Ghislaine Maxwell Facing 65 Years In Prison While Questions Remain About The Names In Epstein's Little Black Book
What's in the Little Black Book?
getty images Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial has finally come to a close after it was announced that she was guilty on five out of the six charges that were set against her in relation to Jeffrey Epstein’s purported sex trafficking ring.
Epstein’s former lover, Maxwell, now faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison for being found guilty of sex trafficking conspiracies as well as the sex trafficking of minors, the enticement and transportation of minors to engage in illegal sex acts, and the conspiracy to transport minors to engage in illegal sex acts.
One strong piece of evidence against Maxwell was Jeffrey Epstein's 'Little Black Book.'
Epstein’s 'Little Black Book' became the subject of everyone’s curiosity because it supposedly holds potentially damning information about his closest acquaintances and business associates.
Pictures of Epstein with Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Prince Andrew, and Bill Clinton, among many, many others, started to circle the internet and got people talking about who could potentially be involved in the sex trafficking ring that plagued the lives of these women for years.
There are claims that Epstein's 'Little Black Book' is being sealed.
Claims that Epstein’s 'Little Black Book' is being sealed started with Jack Posobiec, a right-wing commentator and conspiracy theorist, tweeted, “Ghislaine Maxwell has been found guilty. All details of Epstein’s Network ordered sealed.”
The claim was corroborated and elaborated upon by Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene who tweeted that all of the information should be made public and his fortune should go to the women who were victimized.
Reports that the judge ordered Epstein's 'Little Black Book' sealed have not been proven.
The rumors spread like wildfire, but in a conversation with the Daily Dot, Adam Klasfeld, the managing editor of Law & Crime, said that the claims were “spurious, false, and inscrutable.”
Klasfeld had been reporting on the case from inside the courthouse and said that there’s already a sizable amount of information on public record about these things.
“I’m not quite sure what that even means, but insofar as I can make sense of the claim, it’s easily disproven; quite a bit of information about Epstein’s associates is already in the public record,” he said.
In fact, the judge in Maxwell's case allowed the book as evidence in court.
Despite Maxwell's protests and claims that the book may have been "altered," the judge allowed the book as evidence. Jurors were reportedly shown excerpts of the book that prosecutors said would "help establish who and what Maxwell knew."
The judge also had a history of unsealing several documents related to Maxwell's case, including Epstein deposition transcripts and email exchanges between Maxwell and Epstein.
While there appears to be no court order sealing the evidence, there are reasons the judge may do so.
While U.S. citizens actually have a constitutional right to court documents, many times these documents are redacted.
There are also rare instances in which evidence is sealed, according to experts.
For example, if the government considers an investigation ongoing (in this case, for example, the government may want to pursue legal action against those named in the 'Little Black Book,'), they may seal documents regarding that investigation.
But for now, there is reportedly no record of a judgment sealing documents related to this case.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.