The conviction of\u00a0Ghislaine Maxwell<\/a>\u00a0last week on five of six felony counts represented the first guilty verdict\u00a0to come out of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal<\/a> since his death. The question is whether it will be the last.<\/p>\n Maxwell was rightfully convicted as someone who was an enabler of sexual abuse, a craven figure convicted of enticing minors to travel <\/a>and the transportation of a minor.<\/p>\n However, these girls\u00a0were\u00a0enticed\u00a0and transported\u00a0for a purpose and, quite possibly, for people other than Epstein.<\/p>\n The prosecution framed its case in terms of the transportation rather than the destination of the\u00a0girls \u2013 and chose to limit the trial to just four of the victims<\/a>. The trial offered insights into the bizarre relationship of Epstein and Maxwell, one\u00a0sustained in part by Maxwell\u2019s eagerness to fulfill Epstein\u2019s demands for a steady stream of young girls<\/a>.<\/p>\n On one level, Epstein and Maxwell were embodiments of the conspicuous consumption culture we have seen in an array of criminal defendants, from Donald Trump\u2019s former presidential campaign chair Paul Manafort<\/a>\u00a0to the late Bernie Madoff<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, Epstein and Maxwell found each other as soul mates in a mutual taste for human consumption. Where Manafort consumed\u00a0$15,000 ostrich jackets<\/a>, Epstein and Maxwell\u00a0actively harvested children.<\/p>\n For Maxwell, unrestrained, unapologetic consumption was a matter of breeding from a\u00a0pampered upbringing by her father, publishing tycoon<\/a>(and fraudulent businessman<\/a>) Robert Maxwell.\u00a0For Epstein, it was a taste fueled by sexual and criminal addiction.<\/p>\n The Epstein-Maxwell alliance was forged by\u00a0a deep corruption on every level, but that corruption was not limited to this despicable duo. Maxwell\u00a0facilitated\u00a0flights and travel to produce girls<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0trips attended by a list of the\u00a0super elite. And Epstein\u00a0allegedly used his stable of young girls as an\u00a0enticement for powerful men.<\/p>\n The travel logs and guest records on Epstein’s trips read\u00a0like a who\u2019s who of the global elite<\/a>.\u00a0That by\u00a0itself is not strange. The most elite in our society tend to flock together. What was notable is that these high-powered trips included\u00a0teenage girls along\u00a0with presidents and princes.<\/p>\n There are only two possibilities that arise from the\u00a0records. First, that Epstein and Maxwell trafficked victims for only their own enjoyment.<\/p>\n Under this theory, young girls and women were transported to an island or homes with powerful men, but those men were interested only in the pleasure of Epstein\u2019s company. They simply often traveled without their spouses or children.<\/p>\n Second, Epstein used\u00a0what Trump called Epstein\u2019s taste for \u201cbeautiful women … on the younger side<\/a>\u201d to draw powerful friends into his circle of influence.<\/p>\n Carli Pierson:<\/strong>Ghislaine Maxwell trial left me reliving the trauma of my own sexual abuse as a child<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n These trips are now largely public record, and the pictures are well known. Bill Clinton getting a massage from a 22-year-old woman in an airport in transit<\/a>.\u00a0Prince Andrew with his arm around an underage\u00a0girl<\/a> in an Epstein home.\u00a0Names from\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Bill Gates<\/a>\u00a0have been associated with Epstein or his infamous flights on “The Lolita Express<\/a>.” Clinton took\u00a026 flights on\u00a0Epstein’s plane<\/a>, according to Fox News.<\/p>\n None of these pictures or records proves criminal acts or establishes which of the two scenarios is true. What they do create is an ample basis for investigation and formal questioning by the FBI.<\/p>\n Yet, with the exception of Prince Andrew, <\/a>there is no public account of a\u00a0formal investigation into those\u00a0who were the possible beneficiaries of Epstein\u2019s\u00a0actions.<\/p>\n The history of the Justice Department\u2019s involvement in the case magnifies these concerns.\u00a0In 2007, Epstein faced\u00a0a state investigation that found probable cause for at least\u00a0four counts of unlawful sex with minors<\/a> and one count of sexual abuse. He was the subject of\u00a0a 53-page indictment <\/a>that could have resulted in life in prison.<\/p>\n That is when the Justice Department struck a breathtaking plea agreement that effectively negated the claims of\u00a0more than 40\u00a0minor girls<\/a>\u00a0(many between the ages of 13 and 17).\u00a0Epstein pleaded guilty to Florida charges of felony solicitation of underage girls in 2008 and served a 13-month jail sentence<\/a>.<\/p>\n The agreement\u00a0violated federal law<\/a> and the rights of the victims. Nevertheless, former U.S. attorney\u00a0Alexander Acosta<\/a>, who signed off on the agreement,\u00a0was inexplicably made Labor secretary under Trump. He later resigned.<\/p>\n The special treatment did not end there. Epstein was not sent to state prison with other\u00a0sex offenders. Instead, he was housed at\u00a0the Palm Beach County Stockade<\/a>,\u00a0and, after only several months, was allowed to leave on “work release” for up to 12 hours a day, six days a week.<\/p>\n Epstein\u00a0had sex with at least one teenage girl<\/a>\u00a0while on work release,\u00a0according to a lawsuit. Epstein\u00a0was allowed to hire the deputies\u00a0who guarded him on work release, he was not locked in at night and a television was installed for his use<\/a>.<\/p>\n His work?\u00a0A foundation that he created and then closed <\/a>after serving his time.<\/p>\n In July 2019, Epstein was arrested again on sex trafficking charges. A month later, he was found dead in a New York jail\u00a0cell<\/a>. His death was ruled a suicide.<\/p>\n Sexual abuse:\u00a0<\/strong>Why are states putting child sex abuse victims back in the home of their abusive parents?<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Many are wondering whether Maxwell will now name names or produce\u00a0rumored tapes. It is not clear that she has such evidence to offer, but, with 65 years of potential time on sentencing<\/a>, she has every reason to cooperate.<\/p>\n Prosecutors already have dozens of names of people who frequented Epstein\u2019s homes and island. Critics of the prosecution say what is\u00a0lacking isn’t\u00a0the evidence but the willingness to investigate.<\/p>\nExploiting underage girls together<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nEpstein escapes consequences<\/h2>\n
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