Max jury may put in a little overtime
Judge suggests extra hours — & defense howls
A Manhattan jury deliberating the fate of Ghislaine Maxwell ended its third full day of deliberations Monday without reaching a verdict — as a judge warned jurors they could start working overtime.
Over objections from Maxwell’s defense team, Manhattan Federal Court Judge Alison Nathan told the panelists to prepare to stay an extra hour each day starting Tuesday.
“If deliberations are not complete starting tomorrow, I would like you to make yourselves available to deliberate until at least 6 p.m. Of course, if you all agree to deliberate later than that, you’re most welcome to do so,” said Judge Nathan.
“Of course, by this I don’t mean to pressure you in any way. You should take all the time that you need.”
Maxwell and her lawyers shook their heads as Nathan said she would tell jurors to prepare to start staying later. The defense team argued the warning improperly implied the jury should rush.
“Your Honor, at this point, because it has only been three days, we believe that any suggestion that they should stay later is beginning to sound like urging them to hurry up, when clearly they know that they can deliberate as long as they want and they should be able to deliberate as long as they want,” said Maxwell attorney Laura Menninger. “They haven’t expressed any hesitation.”
Federal courts will be closed Thursday and Friday, New Year’s Eve. If jurors don’t reach a verdict by Wednesday, deliberations will resume in the new year.
Maxwell, who turned 60 behind bars on Christmas Day, has pleaded not guilty to charges that she allegedly enticed, trafficked and transported teenage girls abused by Jeffrey Epstein from 1994 to 2004. The charges carry a potential 70-year prison sentence.
Earlier Monday, jurors signaled they were rehashing the three-week trial when they asked the court for different color Post-its, a whiteboard, markers and the legal definition of “enticement.”
The panel also wanted to review testimony from Matt, a corroborating witness and former boyfriend of Jane — the first accuser to testify against Maxwell. Jane claimed she was 14 when Epstein and Maxwell first sexually abused her in conduct that allegedly continued for years. Both provided testimony under pseudonyms.
Matt testified that during the years he dated and lived with Jane, from 2007 to 2014, she told him of a wealthy, godfather-type who had helped her mother pay the bills.
“She would just say to me, ‘Matt, the money wasn’t f——-g free,’ ” he testified Dec. 1. “She never went into detail. She just said it wasn’t free.”
Matt said he would learn the mysterious man’s identity in 2009 when the financier’s sex crimes first made headlines — and Jane connected the dots.
The panel also wanted to review testimony from David Rodgers, one of Epstein’s private pilots who testified for the government.
The jurors additionally asked whether it was possible to find Maxwell guilty of transporting Jane to be sexually abused by Epstein at his New Mexico ranch if they only have evidence that Maxwell arranged for the teen’s flight home.
Judge Nathan renewed her warning to jurors to stay safe amid a record-breaking surge in COVID-19 cases.
“Please continue to take precautions in light of the increase in the (omicron) variant. I need all of you here and healthy, of course. So take your masks, be cautious,” the judge said. “I appreciate that.”