Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyer slams federal charges against her as 'meritless'
FOX NEWS - An attorney for Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of disgraced sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein, claimed in a court filing Thursday night that the federal indictment against the British socialite on perjury and sex crimes against minors is "meritless."
"The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York on June 29, 2020, caused a meritless indictment to be issued against Ms. Maxwell," attorney Laura Menninger wrote.
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Menninger is a Colorado-based attorney who represents Maxwell in both the criminal case as well as in several civil lawsuits.
The filing was a response to a civil lawsuit brought against Maxwell and Epstein's estate in January by "Jane Doe" who alleges she was first approached by the pair in 1994 at a summer music camp in Michigan. She was only 13 years old.
"Jane Doe was their first known victim and was subsequently abused by Epstein and Maxwell for years as a young girl, suffering unimaginable physical and psychological trauma and distress," the complaint alleges. "Maxwell also regularly facilitated Epstein's abuse of Doe and was frequently present when it occurred."
Maxwell was taken into custody by federal authorities in New Hampshire last week.
She is facing six charges for conspiring with Epstein in a multi-state sex trafficking ring involving three unnamed minors between 1994 and 1997.
Prosecutors say Maxwell recruited the young girls, asking about their home life and friends, before enticing and grooming them to engage in sex acts with Epstein. Prosecutors also claim she participated in the abuse herself.
The details in Doe's lawsuit are similar to the allegations of one of the three minor victims.
Menninger said that Maxwell was answering Does' complaint 'to the extent that she can without waiving the right against self-incrimination under the United States and New York constitutions and otherwise will invoke that right."
She added that Maxwell's "denials of factual allegations (in Doe's lawsuit) shall be interpreted the same as pleading not guilty to the various counts in any criminal indictment."
In the Thursday night filing, Menninger also issued broad denials to almost every allegation in Doe's complaint and claimed that whatever physical and psychological damages Doe might have experienced did not come from Maxwell. She went a step further by blaming the alleged victim.
"(Doe's) damages, if any, were the result of her own conduct," Menninger wrote, adding that Doe had "voluntarily or negligently assumed a known risk" and had "consented to the alleged conduct."
Doe's attorney Robert Glassman told ABC News that he was "disappointed" that Maxwell's team was "once again deflecting blame on the victims themselves."
Maxwell will be in court Monday to enter a plea to the criminal charges against her. She is currently being held at a federal lockup in Brooklyn. A judge said she should be held in custody until her trial after prosecutors argued she was an extreme flight risk, had multiple passports and $20 million.
Maxwell's cohort Epstein took his life while waiting for trial. In order to prevent that from happening again, federal officials have taken away her clothes and bedsheets and have made her wear paper clothes while in custody, The Associated Press reported.
The steps are irregular and extend far beyond the measures federal officials took when they first arrested Maxwell in New Hampshire.
The Justice Department has also added extra security precautions which include that Maxwell has a roommate in her cell, is monitored and that someone is always with her while she's locked up.