Jeffrey Epstein's 'Right-Hand Woman' Ghislaine Maxwell Enabled His Crimes Because She Was 'Madly in Love,' Podcast Claims
Oct. 24 2019, Published 8:20 p.m. ET
She's still at large. Jeffrey Epstein's "right-hand woman," Ghislaine Maxwell, remains under the RadarOnline.com and has not been charged in the case against the disgraced financier, despite being accused of allegedly hand-delivering young women for him to abuse. Episode 7 of "Devil in the Darkness" explores exactly who she is — and how she's escaped justice for so long.
Maxwell is Epstein's best friend, former girlfriend, and the accused madam or "pimp" of the allegedly young girls he surrounded himself with, the podcast explained. Martin Dillon, the author of The Assassination of Robert Maxwell, which is about her father, noted, "Ghislaine Maxwell is the glue that holds all of this together." Several of Epstein's alleged victims have named her in court documents and claimed that she not only recruited them to "entertain" the businessman but helped groom them and even took part in some of the sexual activities they allegedly participated in.
But when Epstein was arrested and indicted for sex trafficking of underage girls in July 2019, Maxwell got off scot-free. "Ghislaine and her family are really experts at dropping off the RadarOnline.com," journalist Andy Tillett explained. "After her dad Robert Maxwell’s suspicious death, she did the same thing for a while. Her lifestyle makes it pretty easy for her to disappear." He revealed that her family owns properties all over the world, and in the wake of Epstein's death in jail, she really could be anywhere.
After her father's death in 1991, Maxwell went to New York City and met Epstein. As a war hero and possible spy, her father had connections to politicians and other powerful people all over the world; therefore, so did she. And that may be what initially attracted Epstein to her. Many agree that they had an intimate relationship, but what exactly that entailed is in question to this day.
"There was an implicit understanding that they did have a romance at one point," attorney Alan Dershowitz said on the podcast. But Laura Goldman, a longtime friend of Ghislaine’s sister, Isabel, begged to differ. "I know that the popular notion is that Ghislaine and Jeffrey dated," she said. "I believe that they definitely slept together, I just don’t believe they really dated. I think that the connection between them was he had the cash and she had the connections."
But that doesn't mean there weren't potentially feelings involved on Maxwell's side. "Ghislaine Maxwell was madly in love with Jeffrey," Goldman also claimed. "She had only eyes for one person and that was Jeffrey. She always believed that if she did one more thing right, that he would marry her. I really believe she loved him, cared for him, and wanted to marry him. And would do anything to make that happen."
If that is true, it would at least provide some explanation for the horrifying things Maxwell allegedly did for Epstein. While Dershowitz claimed he had no idea Maxwell may have been involved in anything "improper," the financier's former chauffeur admitted that one interaction he witnessed between her and two young girls made him uneasy.
"They were in the back seat of the car," began the driver, whose identity is kept anonymous for his protection. "They were talking. The girls seemed a little nervous and she just kept reassuring them, 'Don’t worry, everything will be OK. You’ll be fine. Just do what I told you to do. And when it’s all over, you’ll be very happy. You don’t have to worry about anything and we’ll get you home as soon as you’re done.' ... They were young, but the thing that got me was ... when she was telling them to be calm and don’t worry and you’re going to be OK ... If you knew these girls or they were related to you, you wouldn’t say stuff like this to these girls ... But it was kind of like she was coaching them almost then and it was very strange."
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There are also accusations that Maxwell was not just accommodating the abuse, but participating in it as well. In a sworn court affidavit, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, an alleged victim of Epstein's claimed, "Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell trained me to do what they wanted, including sexual activities and the use of sexual toys ... It was basically every day and was like going to school. I also had to have sex with Epstein many times."
She also described an awful experience in which she claimed Maxwell participated in a sexual act with herself and Epstein. "I gave Jeffrey a massage with Ghislaine leading the way again," she claimed. She claimed Maxwell undressed her and took her own top off and was active in the entire interaction. "I didn’t know if she was doing this for the sake of his eye-candy but she sure did act like she loved having the control over me telling me what to do."
Maxwell has denied all of the allegations against her. However, many believe she is just as guilty as Epstein was, and that one day she will be brought to justice, despite her current vanishing act.
"Ghislaine Maxwell essentially was a groomer of young women for Mr. Epstein," Spencer Kuvin, who represents several alleged victims, said on the podcast. Lisa Bloom, an attorney who represents other alleged victims, agreed. "I don’t like to convict somebody just based on press accounts, but there’s certainly a lot of people saying that she procured them and God if that’s true, it’s horrific."
"I can tell you without a doubt that on behalf of the victims, I hope that Ghislaine Maxwell is ultimately arrested and prosecuted for her crimes," Kuvin continued. "We are very hopeful, I know the victims are … I frankly would not be surprised if we see her charged within the next year."
“Epstein: Devil In Darkness” is produced by the creators of “Fatal Voyage: The Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood,” one of the most downloaded podcast series of 2018. The series was also named to Apple Podcasts’ Most Downloaded New Shows of 2018 and received a 2019 Webby Best Series honoree nod from the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
“Epstein: Devil In Darkness” releases new episodes every Thursday.