Ghislaine Maxwell's 2016 Deposition to Be Unsealed

Ghislaine Maxwell is believed to have perjured herself in a deposition for a 2015 civil suit during which she denied any knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's underage sex-trafficking ring—and that deposition must be unsealed, a court ordered Monday. A lower court had already ordered it made public and Maxwell's legal team appealed the ruling, leading to Monday's decision by the Second Circuit, CNN reports. The 2015 defamation case was brought by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleges Maxwell helped Epstein abuse her when she was a minor. The only knowledge, so far, of what Maxwell said in her 2016 deposition has come from prosecutors in the criminal case against Maxwell, who have quoted portions showing her denying any knowledge of the criminal enterprise.

Maxwell, 58, was charged in July with helping recruit, groom, and sexually abuse minors as young as 14 for Epstein's empire, as well as with two counts of perjury. Her legal team has argued that unsealing the deposition could taint the jury pool in that case, but the Second Circuit disagreed, Courthouse News reports. In what the Miami Herald notes was another blow to Maxwell on Monday, the court also declined "to consolidate her appeals in numerous overlapping cases." It is not clear when the deposition might be made public. (More Ghislaine Maxwell stories.)