Ghislaine Maxwell Hires Convicted Sexual Predator Harvey Weinstein's Lawyer In Attempt To Appeal Sentence
Jan. 6 2023, Published 8:30 p.m. ET
Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has sought the expertise of Harvey Weinstein's lawyer to appeal her conviction, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Maxwell, 61, officially hired Attorney Arthur L. Aidala, who represented Weinstein at his criminal trial, where he was found guilty of rape and sexual assault.
In 2021, the 61-year-old former socialite was found guilty of charges related to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking scandal. Eventually, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years behind bars by a New York court.
While official documents to appeal her sentence have not yet been filed, Maxwell initiated the first step in the planned process. Aidala confirmed that he filed paperwork on January 6 to represent Maxwell as counsel in an attempt to overturn her sentence.
The attorney stated that the planned appeal is not to determine whether or not Maxwell was guilty but rather would take aim at the judge who oversaw the conviction.
"We believe the trial judge made mistakes," Weinstein's former attorney said on taking on the role of counsel for Maxwell.
Aidala added that Maxwell had been "mistreated" while incarcerated.
Harvey Weinstein
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According to Aidala, his client "was so mistreated during her period of incarceration that it violated so many of her constitutional rights to defend herself."
"She was malnourished," he claimed. "And yet she’s supposed to sit for a trial [with her] life on the line."
"In the United States of America, anyone who’s accused of any crime should not be abused by the US government the way she was abused," Aidala continued. "She did not get a fair trial."
The appeal would determine "whether the judge who decided the case made the correct legal ruling" without bias.
Arthur L. Aidala
The high-profile defense attorney referenced a juror who failed to disclose his background to the trial judge. Aidala believed the juror's alleged history of child abuse, which was not brought up during the jury selection process, perpetrated an unfair outcome for his client.
The trial judge, U.S. Circuit Judge Alison J. Nathan, denied Maxwell's request for a new trial and moved forward as scheduled.
Maxwell was found guilty of five of the six charges against her, including enticing minors to travel to engage in sex acts, transporting minors with the intent of having them engage in criminal sexual activity, and perjury.
The official appeal has been speculated to be filed in the coming weeks.
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