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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Ghislaine Maxwell.....

325 replies

Livelovebehappy · 30/12/2021 07:20

Ghislaine Maxwell has been found guilty of grooming young girls for Jeffrey Epstein. Whilst she absolutely was guilty of aiding the abuse of these girls, shouldn’t there now be investigations into the high profile men who were clearly involved in the abuse? Clinton and Trump, as well as a Prince Andrew were clearly very close to Epstein, and there have been rumours of many other famous people being around at the time. I actually think Epstein’s death was suspect, and I wouldn’t be surprised if his death had been staged to protect some high profile men from being exposed. Maxwell has definitely taken the fall for a lot of people who should have been in the dock with her.

OP posts:
SpaceshiptoMars · 30/12/2021 20:38

Does anyone else think that there seems to be vast quantities of money sloshing around here for stuff that is 'barely illegal' in some cases*. Compare what happened to these Maxwell girls to the sheer horrors of the UK grooming gangs. I've got an uncomfortable feeling that there may be a whole tranche of much worse material to come.

*Not minimizing it, but I know kids vanish out of our care system frequently and never see the light of day again.

Roussette · 30/12/2021 20:49

I agree diddl although Epstein and GM attended Beatrice's 18th at Windsor Castle with the Queen in attendance AFTER Epstein's first sex trafficking conviction Shock

StoneofDestiny · 30/12/2021 20:57

Yes the others need investigating too. Let's see how impartial the US justice system actually is. Powerful and influential men cannot go uninvestigated. Our police (as Palace Security) are already tainted here - deafening silence from them yet we know Andrew never went anywhere without his bodyguards we pay for. They will know where he has been and who he has been with.
To think Andrew entertained this odious pair in royal properties - nobody can convince me he was an innocent in this murky business.

Mum090521 · 30/12/2021 20:59

The documentary Epstein Filthy Rich on Netflix is a real eye opener. It portrays her as having engineered it. If it is indeed true, she was no innocent bystander.

DeliriaSkibbly · 30/12/2021 21:00

@JohnSmithDrive

I'll be amazed if it sticks at appeal
The only successful appeal will be procedural. The defence (defense ?) would need to argue that the judge misinterpreted something procedural (such as granting anonymity where it shouldn't have been).

They can't argue about evidence - that's what the trial was for. They had the opportunity to call witnesses, or allow Ms Maxwell to take the stand, which they chose not to do.

From all I've read, and I do not profess to understand US law greatly, most commentators who do are putting their chances as 'very low'.

Justheretoaskaquestion91 · 30/12/2021 21:05

@Roussette

Exactly. That sort of thing is why this is all mortifying for the royal family. Statements need to be released taking some responsibility as a bare minimum. I think it’s unlikely Andrew is ever going to get more than a fine and a slap on the wrist, but if his mother continues to hide him behind her petticoat, people are going to get more and more pissed off. It’s a joke.

I think a lot of these guys will get attacked from other angles - eg Leon black and the 100 million he gave Epstein, rather than the sex angle which is nigh on impossible to prove/prove the intent around. Unless Maxwell cooperates which seems highly unlikely.

Plumedenom · 30/12/2021 21:09

I am hoping she is the first domino in a chain.

Roussette · 30/12/2021 21:14

Yes it is beyond mortifying and embarrassing for the RF. God knows where they'll go from here with it
I think next week is pretty crucial for PA with some unveiling of documents

Plumedenom · 30/12/2021 21:15

I think we do have a big problem at the heart of the royal family. They have very very expensive lifestyles, and their pay is unbelievably high for a normal person, but not for the lifestyle and staff they require. A lot of their time is accounted for on official duties, they can't be on the family pay roll and do another job...so they end up getting indebted to scum like Epstein, who saw Andrew coming from a mile away. Not excusing him, but he was an idiot and an easy target.

Roussette · 30/12/2021 21:22

Andrew is wooed and wowed by excessive money and prestige , he's an arrogant fool

DeliriaSkibbly · 30/12/2021 21:25

The Royal Family is, essentially, corrupt.

As The Guardian showed, The Queen is not above 'leaning' on governments to get bills altered so that they fundamentally favour their tax-free lifestyle. I find it very strange that such diligent research has been glossed over by every other news publication out there.

The Establishment in this country gets away with a great deal. They all prop each other up because they know, like a house of cards, if one goes, they rest are likely to follow in short order.

Royalists often point to The Queen as some sort of paragon of virtue. I admit she has been a reasonable Head of State, but not blameless. The next one, Charles, interferes politically which is supposed to be a 'no no'. It's all well and good saying The Queen is holding on for William to take the throne, but Charles has been waiting for it for a very long time and he's not going to relinquish it. Unfortunately, monarchy means you don't get to choose your Head of State, and you're stuck with whomever is next in line to the throne.

Royalists often say things like "well, if we had a President we could end up with someone like Blair". Yes, we could, but we could also get rid of him. We have literally no mechanism (well, I can think of one - the French are familiar with it) to remove a bad Head of State with our current system.

With regard to Andrew, it's quite clear Mummy is protecting him - I think we can all agree on that - and it's also quite clear that Mummy (and, thus, the taxpayer) is footing the extremely large legal bill involved - because you can bet your last dollar those lawyers don't come cheap. His ex-wife is a waster, in every sense of the word and I'm not surprised she thinks he's an honourable man - I'm sure, by her standards, he is.

Until we can 'grow up' in this country and consign this miserable lot of misbegotten wasters to the history books where they belong, and have a proper, elected Head of State, I fear this sort of charade is going to continue. Remember - you're footing the bill for this.

diddl · 30/12/2021 21:49

@Roussette

I agree diddl although Epstein and GM attended Beatrice's 18th at Windsor Castle with the Queen in attendance AFTER Epstein's first sex trafficking conviction Shock
I thought that it was just before JE was arrested?

But he definitely met up with him after he came out of prison.

My now adult offspring showed better judgement as kids!

Roussette · 30/12/2021 22:08

You are correct, I muddled my dates up, but yes he still carried on the friendship after

StoneofDestiny · 30/12/2021 22:13

Until we can 'grow up' in this country and consign this miserable lot of misbegotten wasters to the history books where they belong, and have a proper, elected Head of State, I fear this sort of charade is going to continue. Remember - you're footing the bill for this

Correct.

ClareBlue · 30/12/2021 22:26

Hopefully there will be more.
A conviction of a constitutional lawyer and a prince would start to repair your faith in justice, not beyond the relms now they have got bargaining capacity with the one who really knows what went on

Cosmos123 · 30/12/2021 22:29

I do believe the case will go to retrial. Mainly because the judge did not allow for all of GM's key defence witnesses to be heard.
I also think the way she has been held pre trial was unfair.

However even if it goes to retrial i believe she may get a shorter sentence but still be convicted. I predict from 30 years reduce to say 10 or 15.
Still a longtime to be inside especially if you are 60 and not many years to go.

MsTSwift · 30/12/2021 22:29

And 2 ex presidents…

immersivereader · 30/12/2021 22:32

I just want to see Prince Andrew prosecuted. There are so many ways he's slithered out of facing the music, he now needs to be sentenced appropriately.

And dont get me started on the Queen paying for his defence

ClareBlue · 30/12/2021 22:41

@Zilla1
'after he was suicided' that's a great new verb. To be suicided, the act of being killed and it made to look like a suicide.
Will it make it into the Ox Dictionary? I think it will.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 30/12/2021 22:46

A lot of their time is accounted for on official duties

Not according to the court circular it isn't - the document that's notable for the yawning gaps between engagements

Even the "research" to be done is largely carried out by others with a precis delivered to the royal in question, and worse still the "engagaments" are padded out by pretending a 10 minute phone call counts

Taken all round, it's a total sham

Parsley1234 · 30/12/2021 22:48

Why is GM saying nothing ? If she implicates other people she could of plea bargained a lesser sentence before trial I believe but is she really going to say nothing why ? She has nothing to lose that I can see unless she believes she could be suicided too

Roussette · 30/12/2021 22:57

puzzled I agree.
I don't look at the CC too often because it annoys me.
But funnily enough I looked a day or so ago and mentioning no names, I'm taken aback at the little done by some. 4 engagements since 1st December, two if which are phone calls.

I honestly think they're in a unique position to do some good things but that really doesn't cut it.
It has to change before any goodwill they did have is lost forever

Roussette · 30/12/2021 23:01

@DeliriaSkibbly
That's a great post of yours

User342354252 · 30/12/2021 23:05

Maybe the very reason Ghislaine has not been suicided is because she has a system set up to publicly reveal everything in the event of her untimely death. It must be relatively simple to have someone release a trove of material for everyone to access. It could even be online already and there literally needs to be one click for it to become public. She just needs to instruct a lawyer, trusted person or even a network of hired anonymous people to activate the system.

There were rumours that Epstein's entire villa had cameras and nobody knows where he obtained his wealth. Many speculate it was blackmail. Rather than plotting her unexpected demise, many powerful people are probably quaking at the thought of it.

antisocialsocialclub · 31/12/2021 01:11

@User342354252

Maybe the very reason Ghislaine has not been suicided is because she has a system set up to publicly reveal everything in the event of her untimely death. It must be relatively simple to have someone release a trove of material for everyone to access. It could even be online already and there literally needs to be one click for it to become public. She just needs to instruct a lawyer, trusted person or even a network of hired anonymous people to activate the system.

There were rumours that Epstein's entire villa had cameras and nobody knows where he obtained his wealth. Many speculate it was blackmail. Rather than plotting her unexpected demise, many powerful people are probably quaking at the thought of it.

That’s really interesting.

Seems that PA’s legal team has launched a bid to keep all evidence sealed. Surely only a guilty person would do this??