"The Clintons are likely to be asked why, long after Maxwell had been publicly accused of trafficking girls with Epstein in 2009, she was still welcome at events with the couple."

"In 2010, Maxwell attended the wedding of the Clintons’ daughter, Chelsea, and in 2013 was a guest at the Clinton Global Initiative conference. The former president Clinton also attended a dinner with Maxwell in Los Angeles as late as 2014, according to reports.... Speaking to Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney-general, Maxwell said Bill was 'my friend, not Epstein’s friend.' She said: 'President Clinton liked me, and we got along terribly well. But I never saw that warmth with Mr Epstein.'"

From "The questions Bill and Hillary Clinton need to answer about Epstein files
The couple will be questioned, starting on Thursday, over pictures with the paedophile and emails to Ghislaine Maxwell. What will they have to explain?" (London Times).

Incredibly stupid NY Post headline: "Ghislaine Maxwell filmed bizarrely carrying umbrella on sunny day at Texas prison."

Text: "Ghislaine Maxwell was snapped going for a casual stroll while carrying an umbrella on a sunny day at the cushy Federal Prison Camp Bryan.... Maxwell accessorized with a large bottle and a black umbrella — a la Mary Poppins — which she carried overhead despite the seasonally balmy weather in an effort to shield the Sun or perhaps lower her profile...."

Yes, you eventually got there, so you knew before publishing exactly why she carried an umbrella. As you inanely put it: "in an effort to shield the Sun." Inane, because it's not to shield the sun. It's to shield oneself from the sun. An umbrella carried for sun protection can be called a "parasol." 

Does the reporter not know this? He's Shane Galvin: "Shane is an experienced writer with a proven track record. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature from The New School." How is English literature taught these days? Does one never encounter fictional characters who use parasols? There's nothing bizarre or nutty about protecting oneself from sunlight. I guarantee you that in Jane Austen novels nobody ever slathers on sunscreen.

I looked to see what else Shane Galvin had written. What is this "proven track record"? I find, from December 29, 2024: "I look like Luigi Mangione — and it got me a hot date with a model who slid into my DMs."

Yeesh. I'll move on. Just one more thing. I see Galvin capitalized "sun." That's wrong, but why is it wrong? We capitalize the names of the planets — Venus, Mars, etc. Is it because "sun" is like "planet," and not a name at all? What then is the proper noun for the sun? Other stars have names — Alpha Centauri, Sirius, Betelgeuse. If you're talking about our sun along with other stars, what name do you use?

What is the proper noun used as the name for our sun?

There isn't one!

Just capitalize "sun." Make it "Sun." Voila!

Oddly enough, it's Sol.

It's something else.

 

pollcode.com free polls

"Mr. Epstein’s email from 2019, which claims Mr. Trump 'knew about the girls' and asked Ms. Maxwell 'to stop,' was sent to Mr. Wolff..."

"... who had recently written a tell-all book about the president. Mr. Epstein was months away from the arrest and federal charges that would send him to prison, but he was the focus of significant attention.... In his email, Mr. Epstein mentioned a victim of his sex-trafficking operation. He also mentioned Mar-a-Lago, then disputed that Mr. Trump had ever asked him to resign from the club. 'Never a member ever,' Mr. Epstein wrote...."

From "Epstein Alleged in Emails That Trump Knew of His Conduct/In a message obtained by Congress, the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein wrote that Donald J. Trump spent hours at his house with one of Mr. Epstein’s victims" (NYT).

This is the top story at the NYT home page right now.

ADDED: From the New York Post, "Epstein emails: The Dems and their lapdogs with laptops cry Wolff again."

"The deference and servility to [Ghislaine] Maxwell have reached such preposterous levels that one of the top officials at the facility has complained that he is 'sick of having to be Maxwell’s bitch.'"

Says a letter to Trump from Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, quoted in "Democrats reveal whistleblower details of Ghislaine Maxwell prison 'luxuries'/In a letter to the president, House Democrats say Maxwell’s treatment as she prepares a clemency request makes the convicted sex offender look like a 'guest at a Trump hotel'" (MSNBC).

What are these luxuries? We're told there are "customized meals personally delivered to her cell, after-hours time in a private exercise area and access to a service puppy.... private meetings with visitors arranged by the warden, complete with snacks...." 

"All I had to do was pretend to be entertained by their lewd gestures, and when Andrew cupped my breast with a doll made in his image, I only giggled away."

Wrote Virginia Giuffre, quoted in "Virginia Giuffre’s memoir ‘contains Prince Andrew puppet assault claim’/Posthumous memoir by victim of Jeffrey Epstein will be released in late October" (London Times).

Why did Andrew have a puppet of himself? Was this sex paraphernalia that he brought to the encounter? No. Epstein and Maxwell gave Andrew a puppet — a very ugly caricature of himself — from TV show "Spitting Image."

"5 Takeaways From Ghislaine Maxwell’s Interview About Jeffrey Epstein."

For what it's worth. From the NYT. Gift link, because I don't value spending my time on this. 

The first bulletpoint is the one of most interest though not at all surprising, considering her interests: "Maxwell praised Trump and distanced him from Epstein."

ADDED: You can read or listen to all of the interviews at the Department of Justice website: here.

"Those are crimes against the vulnerable, and you’re putting them with a puppy who is vulnerable."

"We do not allow anyone whose crime involves abuse towards minors or animals — including any crime of a sexual nature. That’s a hard policy we have, so she will not be able to.”

Said Paige Mazzoni, head of Canine Companions, quoted in "Ghislaine Maxwell barred from service dog training at cushy prison camp." (NBC News).

"Ms. Maxwell cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity."

"Nor is a prison setting conducive to eliciting truthful and complete testimony. Of course, in the alternative, if Ms. Maxwell were to receive clemency, she would be willing — and eager — to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, D.C. She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning."

Said David Oscar Markus, Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorney,  quoted in "Ghislaine Maxwell quietly moved from Florida to Texas prison as lawyers seek Trump pardon" (Independent).

And there's this from Trump: "Well, I’m allowed to give her a pardon, but nobody’s approached me with it. Nobody’s asked me about it."

"She is the Rosetta stone. She knows everything. She arranged every single trip, and if she was just given… immunity, she could be compelled to testify."

Said Alan Dershowitz, quoted in "Trump’s MAGA allies zero in on Ghislaine Maxwell as Epstein furor persists/The intensifying focus on Ghislaine Maxwell represents the latest turn in a winding case that has long been a focus of conspiracy theorists" (NYT).

I'm sure her testimony is valuable, but I see at least 5 problems with the Dershowitz assertion: 1. She may have misunderstood or misperceived what she witnessed when she witnessed it. 2. She will have forgotten some things, 3. She may misremember when she attempts to recall when she is questioned now, 4. She has so much reason now to lie, distort, or at least shape her story to serve her obvious self-interest, 5. Arranging a trip doesn't mean that you know everything that happens everywhere on the plane and at the destination.

ADDED: I know what I've listed are typical problems, and of course, Professor Dershowitz know what they are, but he's the one who chose to say: "She knows everything."

"It’s something I haven’t thought about."

Said Trump, quoted in "Trump says he has no plans to pardon Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell" (WaPo).

It's not believable that he hasn't thought about it. Just to hear the question Have you thought about it? is to think about it... depending on the meaning of "thought." I think he means to assert that these current discussions his Justice Department is having with Maxwell are not about making some sort of deal with her to give them useful testimony in exchange for a pardon. But how can that not be implicit? How can he not have thought of it... he who has portrayed his whole existence as endless, ongoing dealmaking?

***

"Deals are my art form. Other people paint beautifully or write poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That’s how I get my kicks" — Donald Trump, "The Art of the Deal."

"A federal judge in New York has ordered a vast unsealing of court documents in early 2024 that will make public the names of scores of Jeffrey Epstein's associates."

ABC News reports.

The documents are part of a settled civil lawsuit alleging Epstein's one-time paramour Ghislaine Maxwell facilitated the sexual abuse of Virginia Giuffre. Terms of the 2017 settlement were not disclosed.

"One complication in this case has been the chaotic jumble of rich and famous people who moved in and out of [Jeffrey] Epstein’s orbit."

"The names thrown about over the years have driven a frenzy of media interest but led to no clear evidence of wrongdoing.... Leland Nally, a writer and film-maker who painstakingly called all 1,500 people in Maxwell and Epstein’s little black book of contacts for an article that appeared in Mother Jones magazine in 2020, warns against jumping to conclusions based on whose name was jotted down. Epstein was obsessive. 'He absolutely was a social-ladder-climber and a collector of these people, so I think he was very quick to put people in this black book,' he says. That said, it is surprising that those who were around Epstein with any frequency did not have at least an inkling of what he and Maxwell were doing. 'I think it’s impossible for many of the people who were close with them throughout the years to have no idea of what was going on,' Nally says.... When [Virginia] Giuffre, now 38, asked Epstein why [Bill] Clinton spent time with him, she claims he laughed and told her: 'Let’s just say he owes me favours.' Epstein cultivated this image, Nally says: 'He enjoyed being seen as a sort of supervillain wacky billionaire.'"

From "Ghislaine Maxwell has been brought to justice. Now what about the men? Some high-profile figures are hoping a line has been drawn under the investigations into Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes" (London Times).

ADDED: Here's Nally's 2020 article: "I Called Everyone in Jeffrey Epstein’s Little Black Book/What I learned about rich people, conspiracy, 'genius,' Ghislaine, stand-up comedy, and evil from 2,000 phone calls."

"It is a disgrace that so many women can have been assaulted by so many men, and yet it turns out the only person who will go to jail is a woman."

"Where are the people — sorry, men — who flocked to 'Paedophile Island' and flew on the 'Lolita Express'? The grotty liggers who turned up because they knew he had an unquenchable supply of young, willing women? The pervert bankers who took holidays in his waterfront mansion? The celebs who partied with underage models but 'saw nothing'? The most any single man except Epstein himself has suffered in connection with this case is the mild embarrassment of being snapped with him or, as in the case of Donald Trump, once making the mistake of saying he was a 'terrific guy.' And what will Maxwell get? She could get 65 years. We know, obviously, about Prince Andrew, a terminally fat-fingered chaffering drongo who is slowly being comically lost in the snaky coils of Epstein’s former towel girl Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Will he ever end up in court? Who cares?"

From "Epstein is dead, Maxwell is guilty. Now let’s talk about the men who escaped" by Camilla Long (London Times).

I agree with the substance of this piece. That's why I'm quoting it. That said, I'd like to talk about grotty liggers and chaffering drongo. Those are 4 great words, and I only know "grotty" — short for "grotesque." So let's research. 

It turns out that "liggers" are people who "lig," and "to lig" — which is a dialect variant of "to lie" — means "To idle or lie about (colloquial); also (slang), to sponge, to ‘freeload’; to gatecrash or attend parties." That's according to the OED, which gives us the quotes "It's a time for ligging in the streets and doing your thing, man" (1969) and "The Feelgoods, now ligging and gigging around America" (1976).

So, yes, obviously, these were grotty liggers.

By the way, the OED cites "A Hard Day's Night" as the first recorded use of "grotty": "'I wouldn't be seen dead in them. They're dead grotty.’ Marshall stared. ‘Grotty?’ ‘Yeah—grotesque.’"

On to chaffering drongo. To "chaffer" is to bargain or haggle. And to call someone a "drongo" — originally a type of bird — is to say they are a stupid fool. Fine to say that about Andrew, but it's a bit unfair to disparage the bird, which seems rather smart:

"There’s a tremendous amount of information she has on some very important people. Now that she’s been convicted she may be more eager to discuss."

"She certainly should, in my mind, because a lot of people skated here, while she bore the brunt of the government’s full wrath."

Said Jeffrey Lichtman, "the defense attorney who represented the Mexican drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán at trial two years ago," quoted in "Speculation grows that Maxwell may try to cut a deal for reduced sentence/Experts say any deal depends on whether US government believes it is worth investigating network that may have been involved" (The Guardian).

"Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of trafficking girls for Jeffrey Epstein."

 WaPo reports.

At trial, prosecutors argued that the teenagers, who were as young as 14 during their encounters with Epstein, expected Maxwell to be a buffer and chaperone between them and the much older multimillionaire. Instead, Maxwell facilitated massage appointments and gave instructions on what Epstein liked, the now-grown women said. She also sometimes arranged their flights and other travel details when they visited his homes.

"I don’t know, and I’m not going to try to read her mind. Maybe she was just bored coming out of her jail cell. I know her sister sometimes also sketches in court. Maybe the Maxwell family just likes to sketch in their free time."

Said Jane Rosenberg, the courtroom artist who found herself on the receiving end of drawing by Ghislaine Maxwell, quoted in "'My life is weird': the court artist who drew Ghislaine Maxwell drawing her back" (The Guardian). 

She and another artist, Liz Williams, were sketching Maxwell one day during a pre-trial motion when they noticed that Maxwell, armed with a pen or pencil, was returning the favor. 

It made me think of the phrase, "When you gaze long into the abyss the abyss also gazes into you." 

There's no gazing like the gazing required for drawing. 

"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster . . . when you gaze long into the abyss the abyss also gazes into you." 

When you draw the monster, the monster draws you.

The artist puts a light spin on it — maybe it was just boredom or she likes to draw. I don't think so. I think Maxwell is speaking silently, saying: You're looking at me? I'm looking at you. You see evil in me? I see it in you.

imagine doing a court illustration of ghislaine maxwell while she stares directly at you and draws you right back pic.twitter.com/zGQBSkSbzl

— ¬(abcdentminded) (@abcdentminded) December 2, 2021

"But what I'd like to know is not why Cuomo would commit so many acts of sexual harassment for so long, but who knew and who protected him?"

"Presumably, there are a lot of New York Democrats who've protected Cuomo over the years, probably people who made sanctimonious pro-woman statements in the heyday of the 'Me Too' movement. Tell me about them."

That's what I wrote on August 5th. 

Today, I see "Melissa DeRosa, top aide to Cuomo, resigns in wake of state attorney general’s report" (WaPo): 

She was known for her bare-knuckle and profane style and was disliked by many of her colleagues.... But... she said attacks on her were sexist. Throughout the attorney general’s report, DeRosa is mentioned by name 187 times — as much as Cuomo. She is portrayed as a constant force, taking part in an alleged effort to discredit one of his accusers, lining up women and elected officials to defend him....

DeRosa also tried to squelch a news story scrutinizing whether state rules were changed so an inexperienced female state trooper could join Cuomo’s detail, the attorney general’s report found. The trooper was repeatedly harassed by Cuomo, who touched her back and stomach, kissed her and made comments about her appearance, investigators said....

People who have spoken to DeRosa in the past week said she remained defiant....

ADDED: I'm reminded of all the many people — including many women — who facilitated Bill Clinton. 

AND: Maureen Dowd's column, published on the 7th, aimed squarely at DeRosa:

"I don’t understand what you mean by ‘female.’ I don’t understand what you mean by ‘recruit.’... What do you mean by ‘romantic’?... What do you mean by ‘know’?... What do you mean by ‘prostitution’?... What’s a sex toy?... I don’t know what you mean, if she looked like a child.... What do you mean by ‘school’? Let’s characterize ‘school.’"

Questions asked by Ghislaine Maxwell during her deposition that shed some light on why the thing is so terribly long but yields no juicy information, quoted in a NY Post column, "Inside Ghislaine Maxwell’s absurd deposition — ‘What do you mean by ‘prostitution’?"

It doesn't sound the slightest bit absurd. It sounds extremely intelligent, situationally aware, and laser-focused. 

"In the 465-page document, [Ghislaine] Maxwell repeatedly denies and dismisses numerous allegations, and insists she never saw the financier have sex with anybody."

"' never saw any inappropriate underage activities with Jeffrey ever,' she said. Asked if she was aware of any non-consensual sexual acts between Epstein and masseuses, she replied: 'All the time that I have been in the house I have never seen, heard, nor witnessed, nor have [had] reported to me that any activities took place, that people were in distress, either reported to me by the staff or anyone else.' She also said she never hired anyone under the age of 18 to work in Epstein's homes and never participated in any sexual activities with them. Asked whether she believed that Epstein had sexually abused minors, she said: 'I can only testify to what I know. I know that Virginia is a liar.' Ms Maxwell also called Ms Giuffre an 'awful fantasist.' ... A well-connected socialite, [Maxwell] is said to have introduced Epstein to many of her wealthy and powerful friends, including Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew. Friends said that although Ms Maxwell and Epstein's romantic relationship lasted only a few years, she continued to work with him long afterward...."

BBC reports.

Is that "Borat" sequence with Giuliani "revenge porn"?

I didn't get around to the Giuliani story yesterday. I'd put a lid on my blogging at 12:56 PM when I finished my podcast and got to work painting my closet. I hadn't even thought about the display of video, recorded with hidden cameras in a private hotel room, edited into movie, and presented as out-of-context clips/stills to stun/shock/outrage/delight the people of the entire world. But sitting down to blog this morning, I thought: revenge porn. 

Do we accept that the rules of life in American society today include video recording private behavior and selecting the most revealing moment to put on the internet for everyone to see? If what Sacha Baron Cohen did is accepted, then why can't everyone set up a little camera in their hotel/bedroom and lure someone into that space and see if they get something that they're interested in putting on the internet? This could be used to hurt any person.

Quite aside from the ethics of treating other people this way, the trick — which the clever man Sacha Baron Cohen did not invent — has been enough of a problem over the years that laws — criminal laws — have been passed. Googling "giuliani" and "revenge porn," I found these tweets:

Congrats to everyone posting those Giuliani pictures, you just broke the New York State revenge porn lawhttps://t.co/L28VsRKCkt

— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) October 21, 2020

Revenge porn is an ex boyfriend releasing intimate pictures of his ex girlfriend, not a comedian filming a creepy old man that represents a major oppressor and enemy of US democracy, willingly masturbating to a woman who was interviewing him. Stop twisting laws to save a monster

— 𝑀𝒶𝓇𝒾𝒶 𝒹𝑒 𝓁𝒶 𝒯𝑜𝓇𝓇𝑒, 𝒫𝒽.𝒟. 😷 (@Caidadelatorre) October 21, 2020

I contemplated whether Maria de la Torre might be a pseudonymous comedian (like Titania McGrath), but no, I think she's this college professor. A professor can still use humor, but I think she's at least partly serious. The idea that criminal law protects only the victims you view as good people is legally wrong and blatantly unethical. And by the way, it's an idea that was used to allow rapists to escape conviction! 

Giuliani might not want to argue that what was done to him was revenge porn. It's inconsistent with his assertion that nothing happened — he was just tucking in his shirt. 

I have not research the revenge-porn issue in any depth, and I assume Sacha Baron Cohen has his legal advisers and the scene was planned with an interruption that occurred exactly where it needed to end to preserve the argument that it was not a violation of criminal statutes. But I do think it is a violation of social norms to lure a person into an intimate encounter for the purpose of recording compromising video. And yet, it's a practice as old as photography, and there's a long list of political figures who've been tricked and disempowered this way.

Oh! That reminds me! Today's the day the Ghislaine Maxwell deposition is coming out. So much sexual exposure this week.