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For Ghislaine Maxwell's In Person Arraignment April 16 Inner City Press Requests A/V Access

By Matthew Russell Lee Patreon Periscope Song
BBC - Decrypt - LightRead - Honduras - Source

SDNY COURTHOUSE, April 2 – Ghislaine Maxwell, charged with sex trafficking and false statements in a second superseding indictment, has requested an in-person arraignment citing previous press coverage and debacles(s).

 Inner City Press on April 2 requested audio and video access, see below. 

  On March 29 Maxwell was named in a superseding indictment adding new counts, more time, and Minor Victim-4. The US Attorney's Office pointed out that while Maxwell complained the that White Plains grand jury previously used might be legally suspect, this was returned by a grand jury in Manhattan, 40 Foley Square.

On March 31, Maxwell's lawyers wrote to Judge Nathan to call the new indictment "gamesmanship," saying that "adding charges that were never launched against Jeffrey Epstein based on evidence that was in the government's possession for years is shocking, unfair and an abuse of power."

  Maxwell wants an in-person arraignment, "in light of media coverage." Full letter on Patreon here.

On April 2, near 5 pm, Judge Nathan issued this: "ORDER as to Ghislaine Maxwell. An arraignment on the S2 Superseding Indictment and a status conference is hereby tentatively scheduled for April 16, 2021. As requested by the Defendant, the proceeding will take place in person. The Court is making logistical arrangements and will provide more information when it is available. The Government is ORDERED to respond to the issues raised in the Defendants March 31, 2021 letter, Dkt. No. 192, by April 9, 2021."

  Before 6 pm on April 2, Inner City Press filed this: "Dear Judge Nathan:     On behalf of Inner City Press and in my personal capacity, I have been covering the above-captioned case. This concerns press and public access to the arraignment on the second superseding indictment, tentatively scheduled for April 16, 2021.     Defense counsel requested an in-person arraignment "most especially in light of media coverage." (Docket No. 192). Inner City Press is concerned that, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and court-entry and social distancing rules in place, access to this criminal proceeding will be limited.  This is an application that the arraignment include not only a video feed to an overflow courtroom in the SDNY complex and its Press Room, but also a listen-only call in line such as exists for those in person criminal proceedings which are resumed in SDNY, for example Judge Rakoff's trial in US v. Weigand,  20-cr-188 (JSR) -- regarding which, see Judge Rakoff's transparency order: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20536946-rakofforderonmrlicp         The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees to the public a right of access to court proceedings. U.S. CONST. AMEND. I; Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court, 457 U.S. 596, 603 (1982). The public’s right of access is strongest when it comes to criminal proceedings such as these, which are matters of the “high[est] concern and importance to the people.” Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia, 448 U.S. 555, 575 (1980) (plurality opinion).    Clearly, this long-standing right has to be affirmed differently in this time of COVID-19, in which recent in-person proceedings such as US v. Weigard case issues of jurors' COVID tests and status were issues, and listen-only audio lines were provided. In this context, even an additional overflow room in the courthouse is not enough. In NYC, even with vaccine eligibility offered to those 30 years old and up, "no first shot appointments" remains the most common message on the City's website.      To address the defendant's counsel allusion to a "debacle" (left undefined) in the related civil case before Judge Preska: that some individual, of the many interested this case may have recorded and republished online some of the audio should not eviscerate the right of access of all. Beyond being akin to collective punishment, it may be important to consider the possibility that a supporter of the defendant could just as easily participate in a debacle in order to help the defendant try to take the criminal proceeding private.  By analogy, what if the Proud Boys or Oath Keepers uploaded audio of the detention proceedings now in the District for the District of Columbia, so that fewer (including Inner City Press) could call in and learn and report on what is said in these judicial proceedings? Those proceeding are all available by listen-only audio call in line, and so should be all proceeding in this case.     This is a formal application that a call-in line for these proceedings be provided, as well as a video feed." Watch this site.

On March 22, Maxwell's third application to be freed on bail was denied: "the Court concludes that none of the Defendant’s new arguments and proposals disturb its conclusion that the Defendant poses a risk of flight and that there are no combination of conditions that can reasonably assure her appearance. Thus, for substantially the same reasons that the Court denied the Defendant’s first and second motions for release, the Court DENIES the Defendant’s third motion for release on bail." Full order on Inner City Press' DocumentCloud, here.

From the March 1, 2018 UN transcript, four months before Guterres has Inner City Press physically ousted from the UN: Inner City Press: I also wanted to ask you about UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme).   Whistleblowers there have alleged a number of irregularities, but the one that caught my eye and I've published has to do with the allegation is that UNEP, which claims under Mr. [Erik] Solheim to have a number of corporate partnerships is, in fact, in some cases paying the corporation for the partnership.  I.e., it's not a partnership like, you know, Barcelona Football Club with UNICEF, where they pay.  In this case, they're alleged that, under Mr. Solheim, the UN Environment, as it's now called, is paying $500,000 to Volvo Ocean Races.  And I wanted to know is it… one, I don't know if it's true, but they work there and they have a lot of names and a lot of information. Spokesman:  I think you can ask those questions directly of UNEP.  I have no doubt that Mr. Solheim is operating and running the agency in accordance to all relevant rules and regulations." Right.

Here's from the letter: "Dear Mr. Solheim...  a D1, Lisa Svensson can work from Europe, because for personal reasons she does not wish to work in Nairobi.  Her big office in Nairobi remains vacant with her name and organisational equipment while the same has to be provided again by another office in Europe.  She leads the marine team remotely as the rest of the staff under her responsibility are in Nairobi. 

   As Inner City Press first reported, long time UN operative Amir Dossal, UNSG Antonio Guterres' chief Partnerships official who was also his link to UN bribers like Ng Lap Seng and Patrick Ho of CEFC China Energy, was on the board of directors of Maxwell's shadowy Terramar. Inner City Press first made this link & published the 990. And here is Dossal introducing Maxwell as one of her nine visits to the UN, here.

   After the death of Jeffrey Epstein in the MCC prison, on July 2 Acting US Attorney for the SDNY Audrey Strauss announced and unsealed in indictment of Maxwell on charges including sex trafficking and perjury.

   Inner City Press went to her press conference at the US Attorney's Office and asked, Doesn't charging Maxwell with perjury undercut any ability to use testimony from her against other, bigger wrong-doers? Periscope here at 23:07.

  Strauss replied that it is not impossible to use a perjurer's testimony. But how often does it work?

  At 3:30 pm on July 2 Maxwell appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampsire, before Magistriate Judge Andrea K. Johnstone. Inner City Press live tweeted it here.
(Also live tweeted bail denial of July 14, here.)

   In the July 3 media coverage of Maxwell, media all of the world used a video and stills from it of Maxwell speaking in front of a blue curtain, like here.

 What they did not mention is something Inner City Press has been asking the UN about, as under UNSG Antonio Guterres with his own sexual exploitation issues (exclusive video and audio) it got roughed up and banned from the UN: Ghislaine Maxwell had a ghoulish United Nations press conference, under the banner of the "Terramar Project," here.

 On July 5, after some crowd-sourcing, Inner City Press reported on another Ghislaine Maxwell use of the United Nations, facilitated by Italy's Permanent Representative to the UN, UN official Nikhil Seth and Amir Dossal, who also let into the UN and in one case took money from convicted UN briber Ng Lap Seng, and Patrick Ho of CEFC China Energy, also linked to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

  At the Ghislaine Maxwell UN event, the UN Deputy Secretary General was directly involved.

List of (some of) the participants on Patreon here.

  Inner City Press has published a phone of Maxwell in the UN with Dossal, here. But the connection runs deeper: Dossal with "25 years of UN involvement" was on Terrarmar's board of directors, one of only five directors, only three not related to Maxwell by blood and name.

The directors: Ghislaine Maxwell, Christine Malina-Maxwell, Steven Haft, Christine Dennison and... Amir Dossal. Inner City Press is publishing this full 990 on Patreon here.

  Dossal has operated through the UN Office of Partnership, with Antonio Guterres and his deputy Amina J. Mohammed, here.

And the links to the world of UN bribery, including Antonio Guterres through the Gulbenkian Foundation, runs deeper. More to follow.

Antonio Guterres claims he has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, but covers it up and even participate in it. He should be forced to resign - and/or have immunity waived.

  Terramar has been dissolved, even though Maxwell's former fundraiser / director of development Brian Yurasits still lists the URL on his (protected) Twitter profile, also here.

  But now Inner City Press has begun to inquire into Ghislaine Maxwell's other United Nations connections, starting with this photograph of another day's (or at least another outfit's) presentation in the UN, here. While co-conspirator Antonio Guterres has had Inner City Press banned from any entry into the UN for two years and a day, this appears to be in the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) chamber. We'll have more on this, and on Epstein and the UN. Watch this site.

  The case is US v. Maxwell, 20-cr-330 (Nathan).

***

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