Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers seek to have accusers’ attorneys testify
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Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers are seeking to call three attorneys who represent accusers in her sex-trafficking trial.
Maxwell’s defence is scheduled to begin Thursday in a lower Manhattan court, after two weeks of sometimes graphic testimony from four women who have accused her of participating in Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of underage girls.
The witness list for the defence is under seal, though her lawyers are planning to call as many as 35 people to the stand, according to court filings.
In a filing late Tuesday, prosecutors revealed three of the names on the list: Jack Scarola, Brad Edwards and Robert Glassman. All three are attorneys for accusers in the case, and the government objects to the defence’s request to have them testify.
Maxwell’s lawyers have repeatedly questioned the accusers about their motives for coming forward.
“Rather than asking these attorneys about their conversations with their clients, which are privileged, the defendant seeks to elicit testimony about those attorneys’ conversations with the government,” according to the filing.
The judge should reject the request and not “compel victims’ counsel to testify against their own clients”.
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