Offering asides, recommended links,
blogworthy quotations, and more, In Brief is the Northwest Progressive
Institute's microblog of world, national, and local politics.
Watch the 60 Minutes Inside CECOT segment Bari Weiss doesn’t want you to see
“The 60 Minutes segment that was pulled by CBS News editor in chief
Bari Weiss appeared across social media on Monday afternoon, when a
Canadian outlet reportedly posted it online,” Deadline reported.
“The segment features interviews with Venezuelan deportees who were
sent by the Trump administration to the harsh CECOT prison in El
Salvador. According to The Globe and Mail, Global TV — the outlet that
airs 60 Minutes in Canada — had featured the segment on its app before
it was taken down, apparently appearing by mistake.”
Watch
Aasif Mandvi destroy Fox Business’ Todd Wilemon in this outstanding
segment on the state of healthcare in America (and specifically,
Knoxville, Tennessee)Watch Aasif Mandvi destroy Fox Business’ Todd
Wilemon in this outstanding segment on the state of healthcare in
America (and specifically, Knoxville, Tennessee)Watch Aasif Mandvi
destroy Fox Business’…
This
year's In Memoriam segment at the Academy Awards, introduced by
acclaimed actress Meryl Streep, inexplicably omitted Joan Rivers and Jan
Hooks, leaving many Oscar viewers annoyed and upset. Since they weren't
remembered onscreen at the Dolby Theater, we're going to remember them
here. Joan Rivers: Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June…
A document among the tranche of newly releasedJeffrey Epstein files casts fresh light on psychological tricks that his ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell deployed in her effort to lure vulnerable teen girls into his abusive orbit.
She doted. She joked. She even seemed to listen.
And
while Maxwell’s grooming of victims has long been known, the disclosure
of some grand jury documents in her Manhattan federal court case comes
as she angles for a reprieve from her sex-trafficking conviction and
resulting 20-year prison sentence. Maxwell’s maneuvers have received
renewed attention throughout Donald Trump’s second presidency – particularly in the wake of her controversialtransfer to a minimum-security prison camp known for being more comfortable than other facilities of its kind.
The
documents in question show how a law enforcement officer in 2020 told
grand jurors about an interview with a woman who said she was abused by
Epstein as a minor. She said her initial visits to Epstein’s home,
during which she was not abused, were “strange”.
But,
“Maxwell normalized it for her,” as the office put it. “She was like a
cool, older sister and made comments like, ‘This is what grownups do.’”
The woman said that she saw Maxwell topless by Epstein’s pool. “She was a
little taken back, but Maxwell just acted normal,” the officer
recounted.
When Epstein’s sexual abuse
started, the woman had said, sometimes other women were present –
including Maxwell. “They would generally start with one of the girls
massaging Epstein … usually massaging his feet,” the agent said of this
woman’s account. “Maxwell was kind of teasing the other girls. She’d
grab the girl’s breasts, and she would direct the girls on what to do.”
“She
would try not to look at Maxwell because she gave off that sister-vibe,
so it felt weird for her,” the law enforcement agent said of this
victim’s account. “She would try to be invisible in the room so they
would ignore her as much as possible.”
The accuser described Maxwell’s attitude as “very casual – she acted like this was normal”.
“She
gave off that vibe to her,” the agent recalled the victim saying in her
sit-down with law enforcement. Asked if it made her feel more
comfortable with what was happening, the agent said “it did”.
The
extent of sexual activity with Epstein increased over time. During this
woman’s interview with law enforcement, she was asked about her
feelings about Epstein and Maxwell at the time.
“She
expressed that she felt like they loved her,” the agent told grand
jurors. “She felt they were her family; that they supported her, and …
she was made to feel that she was needed to be grateful to them.”
While the woman is not identified in this grand jury transcript, the account of abuse closely tracks with testimony
from “Jane” during Maxwell’s trial. Jane told jurors Epstein started
abusing her at age 14 – and Maxwell was sometimes in the room.
At
trial, Jane said that Maxwell would sometimes touch her breasts. “There
were hands everywhere,” Jane recounted of one encounter with Epstein
and Maxwell. She also described group sexual encounters with both of
them and others.
Still
more grand jury testimony from the agent with respect to another victim
underscores intricate grooming. That victim’s name is also redacted,
but the law enforcement agent’s description of her experience closely mirrorsAnnie Farmer’s trial testimony. Farmer testified that Maxwell gave her a nude massage at Epstein’s New Mexico ranch at age 16.
“Maxwell
told [her] to give Epstein a foot massage and then showed her and
instructed her on how to do it,” the agent recalled. “[She] was a little
uncomfortable, but Maxwell was joking around so she just followed her
lead.”
Grand jury testimony also drew more attention to how Maxwell tried to keep the atmosphere light during a trip to the movies.
“She
said that when they went outside the theatre Maxwell was joking around
and pulled Epstein’s pants down a little bit,” the law enforcement agent
said. “And then once they went inside the theatre, Epstein, when they
were sitting down, touched [her] leg, and rubbed her arm, held her hand.
And that this time … he wasn’t trying to hide it from Maxwell.”
Yet
another victim told a law enforcement agent that during the early
period going to Epstein’s house, she and Maxwell would converse.
“She
talked with Maxwell about her home life,” that law enforcement agent
said. “She talked with Maxwell about her abuse that occurred when she
was younger.
“She told her that … her mother was addicted to drugs and that she had been molested several times as a child.”
Maxwell
asked the girl whether she was sexually active and if she had ever used
sex toys. She recalled receiving packages containing Victoria’s Secret
underwear – the return address listed Maxwell and Epstein’s name.
The
woman was interviewed by law enforcement in 2007. Epstein in 2008
received a sweetheart plea deal that allowed him to plead guilty to
state-level prostitution charges in Florida and avoid federal
prosecution, amid allegations that he sexually abused dozens of teen
girls.
She did not mention Maxwell during the 2007 interview. The law enforcement officer was asked “why”.
He replied: “She was not asked.”
“She was not asked about Maxwell,” the prosecutor repeated during the grand jury proceeding.
“Correct,” the agent affirmed.
The woman said she did not think Maxwell was “important” to the 2007 interview.
The law enforcement agent’s testimony about this woman’s account does not include her name, but appears to reference Carolyn,
the third woman to testify at Maxwell’s trial. Carolyn, who said at
trial that she turned to “pain pills and cocaine” to “block out”
Epstein’s abuse, died of a drug overdose in May 2023.
Asked
for comment about the grand jury documents, Maxwell’s brother Ian said
he understood the interest around these transcripts, but that “it’s
important to remember that such materials are not evidence of guilt or
proof of anyone’s conduct. Grand jury proceedings are preliminary and
one-sided by design – they allow prosecutors to present their case
without challenge or cross-examination.”
“Because
of that, the transcripts don’t provide a balanced or complete picture
of the facts. They can’t show the broader context, nor do they reflect
the responses, explanations, or evidence the defense might offer in a
courtroom,” he also said.
a
36 foot catamaran was blown out of the water and all aboard killed
offshore of rehoboth beach delaware as pentagon makes statment that all
aboard were members of biden led state sponsored domestic and
international terrorist smuggling group tren de amtrack
