Ghislaine Maxwell believes Jeffrey Epstein was murdered in prison

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Written by northsouth

Category: Americas

Published: 24 January 2023

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NEW YORK - Ghislaine Maxwell said she believes Jeffrey Epstein was murdered in prison in her first interview from behind bars.

Maxwell, 61, further fuelled conspiracy theories surrounding the disgraced billionaire’s death by disputing the official ruling of suicide in an interview broadcast on Talk TV’s the Jeremy Kyle Show on Monday.

“I believe that he was murdered. I was shocked,” she said. “Then I wondered how it had happened because as far as I was concerned, he was going to... I was sure he was going to appeal. And I was sure he was covered under the non-prosecution agreement.”

Maxwell declined to apologise to her victims during the Talk TV interview and said they should take their anger out on US authorities for allowing Epstein to die.

“I say that Epstein died and they should take their disappointment and upset out on the authorities who allowed that to happen,” she said. “And as I said I hope they have some closure by the judicial process that took place. I wish them time to heal and to be able to have a productive and good life going forward, and that’s what I hope for them.”

Epstein, 66, was found dead in his prison cell in New York 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges. His death was officially ruled to have been by suicide after an investigation by medical examiners.

Maxwell was found guilty of the abuse and trafficking of four young girls after a jury trial in New York in December 2021.

At her trial, prosecutors outlined how Maxwell operated as his enabler in luring vulnerable teenage girls with promises of scholarships, gifts and financial assistance for their families, and coerced them into becoming objects for his sexual gratification.

Victims described during the trial how Maxwell initially came across as a trusting, sisterly figure, who would then work in unison with Epstein to abuse and exploit them.

She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2022, and continues to appeal the verdict and sentence.

During the interview from Tallahassee Federal Correctional Institution with journalist Daphne Barak, Maxwell said she wished she had never met Epstein.

Maxwell, who once counted Donald Trump and Bill and Hillary Clinton among her friends, was asked about an infamous 2001 photograph of herself with Prince Andrew, and a 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre.

She said she believed it had been faked, adding: “I don’t believe it’s real for a second.”

Ms Giuffre filed a civil sexual assault lawsuit against Andrew on claims he sexually assaulted her when she was 17 – which he vehemently denied.

Andrew later paid millions to Ms Giuffre to settle the case out of court.

Maxwell also revealed she had met the Queen Elizabeth II, and paid tribute to the former monarch’s “elegance and sheer capacity for dedication to her work”.

“I thought that the Queen was one of the most exceptional women I ever had the honour and privilege of briefly meeting,” she said.

Maxwell’s brother Ian, who was listening into the interviews, later asks her “who is the real Ghislaine”?

She replied that she felt “completely divorced from the person that people reference and talk about” in the media.

The biggest misconception, she said, was that “I’m the cruelest, meanest, horriblest person who’s committed crimes.”

Ms Barak said Maxwell appeared strong and healthy and was holding out hope when her appeal is heard later this month.

Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre photo is fake, says Maxwell

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Written by northsouth

Category: Americas

Published: 22 January 2023

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NEW YORK - Disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has said the well-known photo showing the Duke of York next to Virginia Giuffre is fake.

Maxwell, 61, who was convicted of sex trafficking, has previously cast doubt on the authenticity of the photo, said to be taken inside her Mayfair home, showing Andrew with his arm around Ms Giuffre, and Maxwell in the background.

Speaking from prison in the US, Maxwell said she is “sure” the picture is not real.

In an interview with TalkTV, due to be aired on Monday evening, Maxwell said: “It’s a fake. I don’t believe it’s real for a second, in fact I’m sure it’s not.”

She added: “Well, there’s never been an original and further there’s no photograph, and I’ve only ever seen a photocopy of it.”

Andrew has also questioned the validity of the image of him with Ms Giuffre, formerly known as Virginia Roberts.

The duke went on to pay millions to settle a civil sexual assault case to Ms Giuffre – a woman he claimed never to have met.

According to reports in The Sun on Sunday and Mail on Sunday, Andrew is now considering what legal options are available to him regarding a bid to overturn the settlement.

Ms Giuffre sued him for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was 17 after she was trafficked by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, the former partner of Maxwell.

Andrew denied the claims.

The duke has previously said he has “no recollection” of meeting Ms Giuffre and cast doubt on the picture, claiming he is “not one to hug” or “display affection” in public.

In an interview with BBC Newsnight in 2019, Andrew said while he recognises himself in the picture with Ms Giuffre, he claimed it is not possible to prove whether the image had been faked.

He also claimed the picture could not have been taken in London, as he was in his “travelling clothes”.

Ms Giuffre insisted to BBC Panorama the photo was “authentic” and said she gave the original to the FBI in 2011.

Maxwell cast doubt on the authenticity of the photo in a deposition.

She said the surroundings in the photo looked “familiar”, but also said: “We can’t really establish the photograph and all that”, adding: “I don’t know if that’s true, if that’s a real picture or not.”

Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year after she was found guilty by a jury of luring young girls to massage rooms for Epstein to molest between 1994 and 2004.

Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.

The death was ruled a suicide.

Nearly half of Americans think Harry,Meghan should be stripped of royal titles

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Written by northsouth

Category: Americas

Published: 20 January 2023

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WASHINGTON - Nearly half of Americans believe the Duke and Duchess of Sussex should both be stripped of their royal titles, according to a new poll.

Harry and Meghan have enjoyed greater popularity in the US than the UK in recent years, with a poll taken last month showing just 27% thinking they should lose their titles.

But after the couple's Netflix documentary and the publication of Harry's autobiography, Spare - which saw the prince repeatedly interviewed US television - Americans appear to have significantly fallen out love with the royal couple. For the time being at least.

The Redfield and Wilton poll for Newsweek found 45% are now in favour of Harry and Meghan losing their royal titles – an increase of 18% from last month.

The poll also found that 26% think the couple should keep their title – a big drop from the 43% of those who answered that way in December.

Harry himself hinted that the couple would not give up their titles when asked by Anderson Cooper on his 60 Minutes interview.

Asked about it, Harry said: "What difference would that make?"

The couple's UK popularity has also tumbled recently. After the release of their Netflix documentary last month, a YouGov poll for The Times found that 44% of Brits thought Harry and Meghan should have their titles removed, compared to 32% who said they should not.

Meanwhile, recent polling on the couple's popularity in the UK has seen them plumb new depths, with just 24% now thinking positively of Harry, compared to 68% who have a negative opinion.

This gives him the lowest ever rating on YouGov's royal favourability tracker, having dropped to -44 from -38 last week, which was a previous record low.

Among over-65s, Harry and Meghan are more disliked that Prince Andrew, while Meghan's popularity is even lower than Harry's, with just 8% of the public saying they have a positive view of her.

Harry's memoir, which hit the shelves on 10 January, includes claims that the Prince of Wales physically attacked him and teased him about his panic attacks, and that the King put his own interests above Harry’s and was jealous of the Duchess of Sussex and the Princess of Wales.

In a US broadcast promoting the work, Harry branded the Queen Consort the “villain” and “dangerous”, accusing her of rehabilitating her image at the expense of his.

He also described his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, as his “guardian angel” and said she is with him “all the time”.

Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have not commented on the contents of Spare or the Netflix series.