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Daily Mail
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Ghislaine Maxwell fears for her life behind bars as Epstein drama haunts White House
Ghislaine Maxwell 's brother said the convicted sex offender believes she's at 'great risk' after Donald Trump 's FBI and DOJ claimed the billionaire pedophile killed himself. Last week, revealed exclusively that Epstein's long-time girlfriend and right-hand woman Maxwell, 63, is willing to speak in front of Congress about The Epstein Files. Now, her brother Ian is revealing her sister's frame of mine in the wake of the botched release of the files. Ian Maxwell communicates regularly with her sister in jail on the phone and told The Times she fears for her safety. 'Prisons are very dangerous places and we know from Ghislaine that there are serious staff shortages and more dangerous higher-risk-category prisoners now being admitted to … Tallahassee,' said Maxwell. 'For sure she remains at great, if not greater, risk and has expressed her real concerns about this to me.' He also said his older sister believes that Epstein may have been murdered, contradicting the DOJ and FBI's belief in the official theory that he committed suicide. 'There were certainly a number of convicted murderers on the wing in [Metropolitan Correctional Center] New York where Epstein died,' Maxwell said. 'The contemporaneous investigation of Epstein's death was cut short, cursory and frankly shoddy, certainly as regards the duty guards' story the night he died. At least one distinguished, independent forensic pathologist concurred with the Epstein family-appointed pathologist that homicide was more likely than suicide,' he added. He added that the pathologist from the New York Medical Examiner's office never examined the body. 'I think despite the DOJ memo concluding that Epstein died by suicide, there must remain serious doubts and the jury remains out about that.' Ian Maxwell's take was that President Trump and others would be 'pleased' by the suicide verdict. 'The principal casualties here are truth and justice and my sister's freedom,' he said. 'That's the reality and it should make all right-thinking people seethe with anger. We remain ever hopeful that the truth of the 'hoax', as President Trump now refers to it, comes out.' Ian Maxwell also 'welcomes total discourse' and the complete public release of the FBI files. Maxwell, 63, is the only person behind bars - serving 20 years on child sex trafficking charges - despite the fact that pedophile Jeffrey Epstein allegedly controlled a web of underage girls. Additionally, Epstein's victims alleged they were passed around as sex toys to his wealthy friends and billionaire business associates who regularly visited his homes including his private island, Little Saint James. Now a source said: 'Despite the rumors, Ghislaine was never offered any kind of plea deal. She would be more than happy to sit before Congress and tell her story. 'No-one from the government has ever asked her to share what she knows. She remains the only person to be jailed in connection to Epstein and she would welcome the chance to tell the American public the truth.' What that 'truth' is remains to be seen. Maxwell was convicted in 2022 over her role in a scheme to sexual exploit and abuse multiple minor girls with Epstein over the course of a decade. Maxwell argues she should have been protected from prosecution as part of a Non Prosecution Agreement made by Epstein - her former lover and boss - in 2007 when he agreed to plead guilty to two minor charges of prostitution in a 'sweetheart deal' which saw him spend little time behind bars. And now, controversy continues to rage over the Department of Justice's statement that there is no Epstein 'client list' and the release of videos from inside New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center which the DOJ says proves he committed suicide in 2019 while being held in jail on sex trafficking charges. Critics have pointed to the fact that there is a crucial minute missing from the jail house video that also does not show the door or, indeed, the inside of Epstein's jail cell. The scandal - and alleged 'cover up' - has prompted a rebellion amongst President Trump's loyal MAGA base. Some even believe Attorney General Pam Bondi should be fired after promising to release all files relating to Epstein and his high-profile male friends only to apparently renege on that promise. On Saturday night, President Trump posted a rebuttal to accusations of a cover-up on social media site Truth Social saying: 'For years, it's Epstein, over and over again. Why are we not giving publicity to files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan and the losers and criminals of the Biden administration?' The Epstein 'cover-up' was also a main topic of conversation among attendees of this weekend's Student Action Summit in Tampa, Florida, hosted by the conservative group Turning Point USA , an organization many credit with rallying Trump's young base before last year's presidential election. Sharon Allen, an attendee, told NBC News: 'It's not even about Pam Bondi to me. It's like, look, Trump, we elected you because you were supposed to be different. So you have to prove to us you're different.' A source close to Maxwell told Daily Mail that the former girlfriend of Epstein - who continues to protest her innocence - would 'welcome the chance to sit in front of Congress and tell her story'. The source said: 'Congressional hearings have been held into everything from JFK's assassination to 9/11. The Epstein Files rank up there with those cases. Ghislaine would be willing to speak before Congress and tell her story.' Maxwell is also fighting to have her appeal heard by the Supreme Court. On July 14, lawyers for the US government will submit their response to her plea for the Supreme Court to take up her case. President Trump's former 'First Buddy' Elon Musk sensationally claimed there is a cover-up because Trump is mentioned in the Epstein Files, something sources close to Maxwell say 'is a false flag.' 'President Trump was photographed with Epstein several times and they ran in the same circles but Trump was one of the first to break all contact with Epstein because they fell out over a business deal and Epstein's treatment of women,' the informed source said. 'There are no big shocks about President Trump in the Epstein Files. But there are a lot of powerful men involved and a lot of money and it will come down to following the money. The Department of Justice has said no-one else is likely to be prosecuted in relation to the Epstein case, including Britain's Prince Andrew who was accused by Virginia Giuffre, of allegedly sleeping with her when she was 17 and underage. Prince Andrew has consistently and vehemently denied all charges against him and settled a civil lawsuit with Giuffre with no admission of wrongdoing.
Washington Post
20-06-2025
- Washington Post
R. Kelly claims prison officials plotted to kill him. Judge denies his release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A judge has denied singer R. Kelly 's request to be freed from prison, saying she lacks jurisdiction to consider the convicted sex offender's allegations that federal prison officials plotted to murder him . U.S. District Judge Martha M. Pacold canceled Friday's scheduled arguments in Chicago, and instead issued a five-page ruling denying his emergency request to serve his time on home detention during a temporary furlough.
Associated Press
20-06-2025
- Associated Press
R. Kelly claims prison officials plotted to kill him. Judge denies his release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A judge has denied singer R. Kelly 's request to be freed from prison, saying she lacks jurisdiction to consider the convicted sex offender's allegations that federal prison officials plotted to murder him. U.S. District Judge Martha M. Pacold canceled Friday's scheduled arguments in Chicago, and instead issued a five-page ruling denying his emergency request to serve his time on home detention during a temporary furlough. Born Robert Sylvester Kelly, the 58-year-old Grammy-winning R&B singer is serving sentences at a prison in Butner, North Carolina, for child sex crimes and racketeering. Pacold noted that federal courts have only limited power in such cases, and one by one she examined and rejected various ways Kelly's request could be considered. 'Jurisdictional limitations must be respected even where, as here, a litigant claims that the circumstances are extraordinary,' Pacold wrote. 'Kelly has not identified (nor is the court aware of) any statute or rule that authorizes the court to exercise jurisdiction. Thus, the court cannot award relief in this case.' Kelly claimed in a series of filings this month that prison officials solicited white supremacist leaders to kill him, to halt the disclosure of information damaging to prison officials. Kelly's attorney says he was then moved to solitary confinement and purposely given an overdose of medication, which required hospitalization and surgery for blood clots. Pacold noted that Kelly offers no evidence to back up his claims. Government lawyers suggested Kelly had spun a 'fanciful conspiracy.' Known for such hits as 'I Believe I Can Fly,' Kelly was found guilty in Chicago in 2022 of three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex. In New York in 2021, he was found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking. He is serving most of his 20-year Chicago sentence and 30-year New York sentence simultaneously. His appeals have been unsuccessful, including to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kelly has also sought President Donald Trump's help.
CBS News
08-06-2025
- CBS News
Wanted registered sex offender arrested in Vallejo for setting man on fire, assaulting woman
A wanted registered sex offender was arrested on attempted murder charges after a man suffered severe burns in a fire and a woman reported she was sexually assaulted early last month, the Vallejo Police Department said. Around 6:30 a.m. on May 10, police and fire crews responded to a fire under the Lincoln Road East overpass near Solano Avenue, where they found a man suffering from severe burns. That man was taken to the hospital with a life-threatening injury, police said. Police later identified a second victim who reported she was forcibly taken and held against her will during the same time, police said. The woman said she was attacked, forced to take drugs and sexually assaulted by the suspect connected to the shooting. The suspect was then identified as 39-year-old Joshua Bryan Anderson of Vallejo, who police said is a registered sex offender on parole. He was also on probation for domestic violence and had two outstanding arrest warrants. After obtaining an arrest warrant, Anderson was located at a homeless encampment near Avian Drive and was arrested Saturday morning. He was booked into jail on multiple charges, including attempted murder, aggravated mayhem, kidnapping and rape, police said.
News.com.au
05-06-2025
- General
- News.com.au
New search in Madeleine McCann case finished: Portuguese police
A new search launched this week into the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann ended Thursday, said police in Portugal, where she went missing 18 years ago. Investigators, who spent three days scouring areas near the southern beach resort where Madeleine disappeared during a family holiday, did not detail the results of their latest searches. Madeleine was just three years old when she vanished from the apartment where her family was vacationing on the Algarve coast, triggering a race to find her -- and massive global media coverage. The new search, which began Tuesday, was carried out at the request of investigators in Germany, who are probing whether a convicted German sex offender was implicated in the disappearance. Between Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon, around 25 German police officers assisting Portuguese authorities searched for evidence near the Praia da Luz seaside resort, where Madeleine disappeared on May 3, 2007, while her parents had dinner nearby. Using shovels, rakes and a weed whip, investigators combed an overgrown wooded area bordered by several dilapidated, abandoned houses between Praia da Luz and the nearby city of Lagos, said AFP journalists at the scene. They also used ground-penetrating radar and an excavator to search another area around the village of Atalaia, Portuguese media reports said. A previous search in 2023 of a lake near the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz yielded no results. That is near one of the lodgings where Christian Brueckner, a convicted rapist now serving a prison sentence in his native Germany, stayed during a stint in Portugal in the 1990s and 2000s. Brueckner, a drifter with a criminal record, was living in a camper van on the Algarve coast at the time Madeleine vanished. A mobile phone registered in his name was traced close to the family's accommodation on the night she went missing. Authorities have played down expectations for the new search effort. "As to whether or not something will be found, personally I'd remain rather prudent towards the results we can expect," Christian Wolters, a spokesman for the Braunschweig prosecutor's office in Germany, which issued the new search warrant, told AFP on Tuesday. - 'Cruel rapist' - Brueckner, 48, is serving a seven-year sentence for the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Praia da Luz. He is due to complete his sentence in September. He was acquitted in October 2024 in Germany at a trial for two other sexual assaults and three rapes committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. German authorities in 2020 said they were convinced Brueckner was involved in Madeleine's disappearance, which gained worldwide publicity and has seen several false leads. He has not been charged in connection with the McCann case. Brueckner, who according to German media had a string of previous convictions, including for sexual offences, assault and theft before he was convicted of rape, worked as an odd-job man during his 10 years in the Algarve. He also burgled hotel rooms and holiday apartments. On Tuesday, a journalist from Germany's RTL television recounted his correspondence with Brueckner, and how he had met him in prison. Brueckner, the journalist said, complained that "half the world" considered him a "cruel rapist". He said he wanted to eat steak and drink beer when he is released from prison. A former neighbour in Portugal had told Sky News television in 2020 that Brueckner was "always a bit angry, driving fast up and down the lane, and then one day, around 2006, he just disappeared without a word". He returned to Germany in 2007 -- the year Madeleine disappeared -- settling in Hanover, but still spent time in Portugal. On the 18th anniversary of their daughter's disappearance this year, Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, said they were still determined to find out what happened. "The absence still aches," they wrote on their website last year.
