- Emails released on Thursday show how
Jeffrey Epstein conferred withGhislaine Maxwell in 2015, advising her to distance her from his actions and discredit their accusers. - Shortly before the email,
Virginia Roberts Giuffre had accused Maxwell of procuring young girls to have sex with Epstein. - In an email dated January 24, 2015, Maxwell had asked Epstein to make his relationship with a person called "Shelley" public, to push back against her being identified as a love interest.
- Epstein also appears to have drafted a statement to help Maxwell to distance herself from him.
- The existence of the emails contradict a claim made by Maxwell's attorneys earlier this month that she had "no contact with Epstein for more than a decade."
- Read the email exchange below.
Emails from 2015, unsealed on Thursday by a federal court in New York City, show how Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell worked together to distance her from his crimes.
"You have done nothing wrong and I would urge you to start acting like it. Go outside head high not as an escaping convict," Epstein wrote to Maxwell from the email account jeevacation@gmail.com on January 25, 2015.
Earlier that month Maxwell had been named by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of Epstein's victims, as a "madam" for Epstein. Roberts accused Maxwell of soliciting young girls to have sex with Epstein.
The email came in reply to a request from Maxwell — named as "GMax" in the email exchange — to make his relationship with a woman called Shelley public, so as to romantically distance herself from him.
"Ok, with me," Epstein wrote in reply. The identity of "Shelley" is not clear.
The emails show that Epstein also sent a statement for Maxwell designed to help her distance herself from his crimes and accusations.
The statement sent by Epstein for Maxwell to use said: "Since JE was charged in 2007 for solicitation of a prostitute I have been the target of outright lies, innuendo, slander, defamation and salacious gossip and harassment.
"I have never been a party in any criminal action pertaining to JE."
"For the record: At the time of Jeffrey's plea I was in a very long-term committed relationship with another man and no longer working with Jeffrey."
The existence of the emails contradict a claim made by Maxwell's attorneys on July 10, 2020, that she had "no contact with Epstein for more than a decade."
Read the email exchange here:
Jeffrey Epstein Email to Ghislaine (PDF)Jeffrey Epstein Email to Ghislaine (Text)
The documents were released on Thursday by US District Court Judge Loretta Preska as part of a civil case brought against Maxwell by Epstein's accusers.
Attorneys for Maxwell were unsuccessful in their attempts to prevent the emails from being released.
"The court is troubled — but not surprised — that Ms. Maxwell has yet again sought to muddy the waters as the clock ticks closer to midnight," Preska said, according to The Times of London.
Maxwell was arrested by the FBI at her home in New Hampshire on July 2, and has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in New York City since.
She was denied bail on the basis that she was a flight risk.