Questions persist after Maxwell guilty verdict

With British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell having been convicted in the sordid Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal, public attention has shifted to the powerful men who were guests of the affluent couple and whether or not they will face any consequences.

Maxwell, 60, was accused of recruiting and grooming four teenage girls between 1994 and 2004 for her former boyfriend Epstein, who killed himself at age 66 in a federal Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges.

To this day, many conspiracy theories on social media contend that Epstein may have been murdered because of what he could potentially reveal about prominent men had he stood trial.

Maxwell, who faces up to 65 years in prison, was convicted on Wednesday on five of six counts, including one for sex trafficking. Attorneys for Maxwell said they would appeal.

The trial was seen as a window for justice in the #MeToo movement, which encouraged women to speak out about sexual abuse by famous people.

Among the men whose names came up in stories and photos over the years about Epstein are former US presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump; the United Kingdom's Prince Andrew, who is facing a lawsuit from alleged victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre; billionaire investor Leon Black and Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz.

During the trial, Epstein's private pilot Paul Visoski testified about the Boeing 727 he flew to carry Epstein and his guests between 2000 and 2004. The media have called the plane the "Lolita Express".

Visoski said he piloted about 1,000 flights and had flown the prince, Clinton and Trump. Flight logs also named Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former US senator George Mitchell.

All have denied any wrongdoing, and none have been charged with crimes related to Epstein.

"That the woman who procured girls for Epstein and his wealthy friends will now die in prison, while the men involved remain either free to live their lives or beyond the reach of any mortal judge, provokes a nagging sense of unfinished business," wrote Gaby Hinsliff, a columnist for The Guardian, on Thursday.

"Some still hope she (Maxwell) might share whatever she knows now, given the conviction has left her with nothing much to lose.... But she cannot be the only one who knows more than she is telling about that tainted circle through which so many powerful men have moved."

Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University, tweeted:"When you consider these five convictions for Maxwell, this picture becomes more glaring in the total absence of prosecution for the men on the other end of these flights."

'Unsuitable person'

Another controversy emerged this week when the BBC said it had breached its editorial standards by having Dershowitz comment on the Maxwell verdict during a live broadcast.

Dershowitz was introduced as a constitutional lawyer, with no mention of a connection to Epstein or the sexual allegations that Giuffre has made against him.

Dershowitz has denied her accusations and said he has never met her. He has also filed a lawsuit against Netflix for portraying him in a "defamatory manner" in its documentary Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich.

Dershowitz, 83, previously helped negotiate a 2008 plea deal for Epstein, in which the financier pleaded guilty to charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution, registered as a sex offender and served a jail sentence.

On the BBC broadcast, Dershowitz attacked Giuffre's credibility, suggesting the prosecution's decision not to call her as a witness in the Maxwell trial diminished the allegations against him and Prince Andrew.

"The interview with Alan Dershowitz after the Ghislaine Maxwell verdict did not meet the BBC's editorial standards, as Mr Dershowitz was not a suitable person to interview as an impartial analyst, and we did not make the relevant background clear to our audience," the broadcaster said.

Lisa Bloom, a lawyer representing Epstein accusers, told Daily Mail that those involved in the Epstein case should be worried about Maxwell's verdict.

"I think anyone who was associated with Jeffrey Epstein, who either participated in sexual abuse, or helped him by sending girls to him, trafficking, etc, should be very concerned today about this verdict," she said.

As for Prince Andrew, an unnamed "royal expert" told MailOnline that "it's no longer so much about evidence and proof, or what if anything went on with Virginia Giuffre－it's all about public perception".

"He's likely to see out his days as a rather lonely figure riding out in Windsor Great Park and possibly assisting the Queen behind the scenes, but it seems very unlikely we'll see him doing public engagements again," the expert said.

Reuters contributed to this story.

hengweili@chinadailyusa.com