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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 439 _ Filed 11/12/21 Page 50 of 69
no authority indicating that more is required. Indeed, the government’s demand for a proffer is
nothing more than an attempt to force the defense to spell out exactly what it plans to ask the
case agents and reveal its defense strategy. The Court should reject this demand.
IV. THE GOVERNMENT’S MOTION TO PRECLUDE EVIDENCE OR
ARGUMENT ABOUT ITS MOTIVES FOR PROSECUTING MS. MAXWELL IS
MISGUIDED AND MERITLESS
The government moves to preclude the defense from eliciting evidence and argument
“regarding the government’s supposed motives for prosecuting Ms. Maxwell, including evidence
of Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 death and the timing of charges against the defendant.” Mot. at 34.
Once again, the government’s motion reaches too far and should be denied.
First, as the government points out, challenges to the prosecutors’ motives are typically
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brought by raising claims of “vindictive prosecution,” “selective prosecution,” or “outrageous
government conduct,” which must be resolved by the court, not the jury. See United States v.
Regan, 103 F.3d 1072, 1082 (2d Cir. 1997); United States v. Farhane, 634 F.3d 127, 167 (2d Cir.
2011). But the defense is not raising any of those claims. Simply arguing to the jury that the
government substituted Ms. Maxwell for Jeffrey Epstein after his death does not imply that the
prosecution was the result of the government’s “animus toward the defendant” (vindictive
prosecution), or was “motivated by a discriminatory purpose” (selective prosecution), or was so
outrageous that “due process considerations” must bar the prosecution (outrageous government
conduct). See United States v. Avenatti, 433 F. Supp. 3d 552, 562-53 (S.D.N.Y. 2020); United
States v. Sanders, 211 F.3d 711, 716-17 (2d Cir. 2000); United States v. Cuervelo, 949 F.2d 559,
565 (2d Cir. 1991).
Second, for the reasons set forth above, the defense is entitled to elicit evidence of
Epstein’s death and the timing of the charges against Ms. Maxwell to challenge the thoroughness
and reliability of the government’s investigation. Kyles, 514 U.S. at 445-46; Bowen, 799 F.2d at
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00006467.jpg |
| File Size | 764.8 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 93.5% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,184 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 17:11:34.206680 |