A Manhattan federal court judge denied a third bail bid from alleged Jeffrey Epstein madam, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Maxwell has been denied bail for a third time despite offering to renounce her French and U.K. citizenships. She was denied bail after her initial arrest in July 2020 as well as in December of that same year. Even with an offer of a $28.5 million bail package, the judge deemed Maxwell was still a flight risk, the New York Post reported.
“To summarize, the Defendant’s willingness to renounce her French and U.K. citizenship does not sufficiently assuage the Court’s concerns regarding the risk of flight that the Defendant poses,” Judge Alison J. Nathan reportedly wrote in her latest decision.
Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Audrey Strauss, announces charges against Ghislaine Maxwell during a July 2, 2020, press conference in New York City. – Maxwell, the former girlfriend of late financier Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested in the United States on July 2, 2020, by FBI officers investigating his sex crimes, multiple US media outlets reported. (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)
The judge also noted that even with Maxwell’s newest offer to renounce her French and U.K. citizenships, their respective laws made it fairly unclear on the ease of extradition if Maxwell decided to flee to those countries, according to the New York Post. (RELATED: ‘Sensational And Impure’: Ghislaine Maxwell Case Details Too Vulgar For Public, Judge Grants Redaction Request)
“The Court is persuaded by the Government’s arguments that even if the Defendant were to renounce her U.K. citizenship, she would still likely be able to delay or resist extradition from the U.K. With respect to her offer to renounce her French citizenship, the Court is again confronted with dueling opinions on the correct interpretation of French law,” wrote Nathan.
The judge went on in the decision that she could not see any bail conditions offered by Maxwell that would get the court’s approval, according to the New York Post.
“As set forth below, 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.”
Maxwell was indicted on six counts relating to accusations that she reportedly groomed underage girls for sex for Epstein. Maxwell has pleaded not guilty.
Epstein was arrested in July of 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. He killed himself while incarcerated in Manhattan while awaiting trial.
