Ghislaine Maxwell's husband calls her a 'wonderful and loving person' in $28.5 million bail application for her release
- Ghislaine Maxwell's husband, Scott Borgerson, called her a "wonderful and loving person" in a letter asking a judge to release her on bail.
- Maxwell's lawyers are offering a $28.5 million bail application. Maxwell and Borgerson are offering $22.5 million, which her lawyers say represent their entire assets.
- Maxwell is awaiting trial on charges related to allegedly sexually trafficking minors with Jeffrey Epstein, participating in sexual abuse herself, and lying about it in a deposition. She's pleaded not guilty.
Ghislaine Maxwell's husband, Scott Borgerson, called her a "wonderful and loving person" in a letter asking a federal judge to release her on bail, saying he believes she "had nothing to do" with Jeffrey Epstein's crimes.
The heavily redacted letter is part of a larger bail application seeking Maxwell's release on a $28.5 million bond. Maxwell and Borgerson are personally offering $22.5 million, which Maxwell's lawyers say represent the entirety of the couple's assets.
The letter is the first public statement from Borgerson, the CEO of a maritime analytics company, about Maxwell since her arrest in July. Borgerson's name is redacted in the court documents, along with the names of about a dozen other people who wrote letters supporting Maxwell's bail application, though it's been widely reported that the two are married.
Maxwell is in a Brooklyn jail awaiting trial on charges related to her long relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Prosecutors say she helped Epstein traffic minors for sexual abuse, had sex with them herself, and later lied about her activity in a deposition. Those charges are in line with accusations from dozens of women who say Epstein and Maxwell sex-trafficked them in the 1990s and early 2000s.
In the letter, Borgerson claims that Maxwell is innocent and compared the criticism of her to false conspiracy theories like QAnon and Pizzagate.
"The person described in the criminal charges is not the person we know," he wrote. "I have never witnessed anything close to inappropriate with Ghislaine; quite to the contrary, the Ghislaine I know is a wonderful and loving person."
"I am also praying for Epstein's victims," he added.
Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Maxwell's lawyers say she won't flee if she's released
Maxwell was denied bail in a hearing shortly after her arrest in July. Her attorneys have presented Judge Alison Nathan with a new bail application that includes co-signers who didn't come forward months ago out of fear of harassment, they say.
The bail application says that, if Maxwell is released, she will pay for a 'round-the-clock security team and that she will not leave Manhattan or Brooklyn.
The document also challenges the narrative about Maxwell's arrest set forth by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, who are handling the case against her. In their initial filing trying to stop Maxwell from receiving bail, they said she attempted to flee further into her home when the FBI came to arrest her, and that agents found a cell phone wrapped in tin foil.
Maxwell's lawyers say she went into a "safe room" in her house because she thought the agents were members of the media. They also say the foil-wrapped phone was for the Terramar Project, Maxwell's so-called environmental nonprofit, and that it was also wrapped to evade detection from media outlets.
Prior to Maxwell's request for a second bail hearing, she and prosecutors have been fighting in court over her jail conditions, which her lawyers say are arduous. Prosecutors say she's treated just like other inmates, and that she receives even more time than normal to review evidence for her case.
Prosecutors are scheduled to respond to Maxwell's bail application by Wednesday, after which Nathan will decide whether to hold another bail hearing. Maxwell's attorneys have sought to hold the hearing in secret to prevent further threats against her friends and family.
Read Scott Borgerson's redacted bail application letter below:
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