Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal over her conviction for sex trafficking in 2021 is due to begin today, on Tuesday 12 March 2024. The now disgraced British socialite was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of five counts of trafficking and abusing young girls—crimes that took place during her decades-long relationship with prolific sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

According to The Independent, Maxwell’s lawyers are going to argue that the four victims who testified against her at trial had “faded, distorted and motivated memories.” Moreover, the 62-year-old’s lawyers will claim that she was prosecuted as a “proxy” for Epstein to satisfy public outrage after his death in custody while awaiting trial in 2019. Epstein never faced judgment because he committed suicide in his cell just a month after his arrest.

The socialite’s legal team has tried, but failed, to paint Maxwell as an unassuming and unwilling participant in Epstein’s crimes. There have also been numerous claims from Maxwell and her team that the convictions should be overturned due to the alleged impartiality of the jury. Notably, it was revealed that Juror 50 falsely denied having ever been a victim of sexual abuse.

Despite this potential impartiality, there are numerous victim testimonies clearly outlining how Maxwell acted as an enabler for Epstein, luring vulnerable girls, some as young as 14, and young women into his orbit to be trafficked and exploited.

Maxwell has consistently denied involvement in Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, even going as far as refusing to apologise to the victims. Indeed, in a jailhouse interview with TalkTV in January 2023, Maxwell seemed to show no remorse or even sympathy for the women impacted by her actions.

In one segment of the interview, Maxwell comments on the experience of Virginia Guiffre, an alleged victim of Epstein, who made headlines after she shared a photo that seemingly showed her with Prince Andrew—one of Epstein’s close associates whom Guiffre claims she was trafficked to in 2001. Speaking about the image, Maxwell stated: “Well, it’s a fake. I don’t believe it’s real. In fact I’m sure it’s not… There’s never been an original. Further, there’s no photograph; I’ve only ever seen a photocopy of it.”

“I don’t believe it happened, certainly the way as described. It would have been impossible. I don’t have any memory of going to (private nightclub) Tramp (where Guiffre said Prince Andrew danced with her). Certainly, it’s not an outfit I would have worn,” Maxwell continued.

The conversation regarding other high-profile individuals associated with Epstein began to gain traction once more due to flight logs that resurfaced revealing the names of people who had taken trips on the sex trafficker’s private jet. The so-called Jeffrey Epstein list included former president Donald Trump, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and a mysterious man simply referred to as “Andy”… I wonder who that could be.

Full Jeffrey Epstein flight logs released:https://t.co/9Gcp4AWLUv pic.twitter.com/m7GR3os2Tu

— RJ Talks (@realRJTalks) January 2, 2024

When questioned about his connections with Epstein during an episode of comedian Andrew Schulz’s podcast Flagrant, Kennedy Jr took an incredibly bizarre approach in defending his case: “I’m in New York for most of my life. You run into everybody in New York. I mean, I know Harvey Weinstein. I knew Roger Ailes. I knew, O.J. Simpson came to my house. Bill Cosby came to my house.” I’m not sure what his goal was with this statement, aside from confirming to the entire general public that he has the creepiest friends ever.

Man of the people, totally normal person @RobertKennedyJr after being asked about flying on JEFFREY EPSTEIN'S plane:

"So and I run into everybody in New York. I mean, I knew Harvey Weinstein, I knew Roger Ailes, I knew -- O.J. Simpson came to my house. Bill Cosby came to my… pic.twitter.com/Kvh9zZtR8x

— Lis Smith (@Lis_Smith) March 7, 2024