The Days Leading Up To The Ghislaine Maxwell Trial

The lead-up to Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial was marked by years of delay, institutional reluctance, and a sudden scramble once Jeffrey Epstein was no longer alive to absorb the blame. After Epstein’s death in federal custody in 2019, public pressure intensified over how a trafficking operation of that scale could exist without accomplices. Maxwell, long described by survivors as Epstein’s right hand, recruiter, and enforcer, initially remained free, living quietly and largely untouched while outrage simmered. Federal authorities offered little reassurance that a meaningful investigation was underway, reinforcing the perception that Epstein had been treated as a convenient endpoint rather...