Maxwell denied bail on Epstein-related sex abuse charges
NEW YORK — Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, will remain behind bars until trial after she was denied bail Tuesday as a risk to flee rather than face charges she recruited girls for the financier to sexually abuse more than two decades ago.
Two Epstein accusers implored the judge to keep the British socialite detained after she pleaded not guilty to the charges during a video court hearing in Manhattan.
U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan said even the most restrictive form of release would be insufficient to ensure Maxwell would not flee, particularly now that she has seen the strength of the evidence and realizes that she could face up to 35 years in prison if she is convicted.
As the judge explained her reasoning for denying bail, Maxwell dropped her head repeatedly, appearing dejected. At one point, she appeared to wipe a tear from underneath one eye.
Maxwell, 58, has been held without bail since her July 2 arrest at her million-dollar New Hampshire estate, where prosecutors say she refused to open the door for FBI agents, who busted through to find that she had retreated to an interior room. Her lawyer, Mark S. Cohen, told the judge that Maxwell was in her pajamas and had been told that security protocol called for her to retreat to her room if there was any disturbance outside her doors.
The judge rejected Cohen’s claim that Maxwell was hiding from the public and the media rather than investigators when she purchased a $1 million mansion late last year.
NEW YORK — A $19 million settlement between Harvey Weinstein and some of his accusers and the state of New York was rejected Tuesday by a judge.
U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in Manhattan said Weinstein’s accusers in the proposed class-action settlement were too varied to be grouped together.
Three lawyers for several women who had opposed the deal praised what they described as Hellerstein’s swift rejection of a one-sided proposal.
“We have been saying for over a year and a half that the settlement terms and conditions were unfair and should never be imposed on sexual assault survivors,” the lawyers wrote in a statement released by one of the attorneys, Douglas Wigdor. “On behalf of our clients, we look forward to pursuing justice against Harvey Weinstein and his many enablers.”
A spokesperson for Weinstein did not comment. A lawyer for his companies declined comment.
MOBILE, Ala. — Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions lost the Republican nomination for his old Senate seat in Alabama to former college football coach Tommy Tuberville, likely ending a long political career with a bitter defeat egged on by President Donald Trump.
Tuberville, 65, beat Sessions in Tuesday’s Republican runoff as Sessions fell short in his attempted comeback for a seat he held for two decades.
Familiar to Alabamians from his decade as Auburn University’s head football coach, Tuberville is now positioned for a robust challenge against Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones.