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Case 18-2868, Document 280, 08/09/2019, 2628232, Page36 of 74
attacks. If accepted, this remarkable claim would eviscerate defamation law, as it would permit a
defamer to send defamatory statements to the media and then stand back and watch — immune
from liability — when (as in this case) the defamatory statements are published around the world.
This absurd position is not the law, particularly given that the Defendant released a statement to
media asking them to “[p]lease find attached a quotable statement on behalf of Ms. Maxwell.”
To make her claim seem plausible, Defendant cites older cases, some dating back as far
as 1906. This presents a distorted picture of the case law on these issues. As a leading authority
on defamation explains with regard to liability for republication by another of statement by a
defendant: “Two standards have evolved. The older one is that the person making the defamatory
statement is liable for republication only if it occurs with his or her express or implied
authorization of consent. The more modern formulation adds responsibility for all republication
that can reasonably be anticipated or that is the ‘natural and probable consequence’ of the
publication.” SACK ON DEFAMATION § 2.7.2 at 2-113 to 2-114 (4th ed. 2016). In this case,
however, the nuances of the applicable legal standards make little difference because Defendant
so clearly authorized — indeed, desired and did everything possible to obtain — publication of her
defamatory statements attacking Ms. Giuffre.
1. Under New York Law, Defendant is liable for the media’s publication
of her press release.
Given the obvious purposes of defamation law, New York law unsurprisingly assigns
liability to individuals for the media’s publication of press releases. Indeed, New York appellate
courts have repeatedly held that an individual is liable for the media publishing that individual’s
defamatory press release. See Levy v. Smith, 18 N.Y.S.3d 438, 439, 132 A.D.3sd 961, 962-63
(N.Y.A.D. 2 Dept. 2015) (Generally, [o]ne who makes a defamatory statement is not
responsible for its recommunication without his authority or request by another over whom he
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Document Details
| Filename | DocumentCloud_Epstein_Docs_p00855.png |
| File Size | 307.5 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 95.3% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,172 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-04 12:26:41.552583 |