EFTA00065658.pdf

Exhibit A EFTA00065658 CONFIDENTIAUPRIVILEGED/SEALED November 19, 2020 Dr. Scott Bor erson Dear Judge Nathan, I respectfully submit this letter in support of Ghislaine Maxwell's bail application. History 1. I met Ghislaine Maxwell in 2013 at the introduction of a mutual friend. 2. Ghislaine and I developed a friendship through a shared passion for ocean conservation which over time grew into a close personal relationship. As the years passed, we travelled extensively together, initially to ocean conferences, and then for leisure and she accompanied me on business travel. Her trips to Japan, the UK, and other countries over the last few years were for my legitimate business meetings. We also took the children on a vacation to France several summers ago which included a visit to Omaha Beach and a study of D-Day. As our relationship grew, we rented a home together in Manchester in 2015, culminating in a more permanent arrangement when purchasing a home in 2016 where we lived peacefully and quietly in until Epstein's arrest last year. I have been a Massachusetts resident since 2009. Home 3. I am the father of l. My ex-wife and I share custody. We co-parent in grace, love and harmony. We are 1,000% committed to protecting our kids from the media. 4. The person described in the criminal charges is not the person we know. I have never witnessed anything close to inappropriate with Ghislaine; quite to the contrary, the Ghislaine I know is a wonderful and loving person. Over the previous years she established an excellent relationship with my children and others in my life. She was extraordinary loving to my kids, attending soccer games and orchestra concerts, hosting birthday parties, cooking meals, and otherwise she was lovingly active in their daily lives. My children miss her and they trust her completely. 5. Until the explosion of media interest that followed the arrest and subsequent death in custody of Jeffrey Epstein in July thru August 2019, we led an entirely normal, happy, home- based family life. It's hard to imagine with the hindsight of what has occurred over the past year, but our existence was quiet and lovely. Privacy EFTA00065659 6. The press' behaviour led us early on to determine that we would live our lives privately. We would not add any oxygen to the press-feeding frenzy by providing details about our domestic arrangements or any information about our daily existence. 7. I was, of course, aware of Ghislaine's previous relationship with Epstein, a person I have never met nor had any communication. The media coverage of Epstein is very different today than it was seven years ago when Ghislaine and I first met. To be clear, I met Ghislaine nearly two decades after the alleged crimes. 8. The "reporting" of Ghislaine over the past year has exploded exponentially. From the time of Epstein's arrest and death in custody in the summer of 2019 until Ghislaine's own arrest in July of this year, huge and increasingly frightening levels of media interest meant that our previous quiet existence became unbearable. There are many examples of violence whose seeds were born in conspiracy theories, and the experiences of QAnon, Pizzagate, and the recent Judge Salas attack are terrifying. Some of the outlandish conspiracy allegations on the intemet have insinuated that I am somehow involved in trafficking, in cahoots with Ghislaine for nefarious activities, or shielding her criminal activity. These ridiculous comments on the intemet could not be further from the truth. I (we) lived a law abiding and innocent life. Twitter comments have been particularly galling, with one speculating that I am a spy (not true) and another "you think a guy like Scott could disseminate Epstein's hundreds of pedo videos at will?" I have zero knowledge of any videos or other outlandish conspiracy theories. There are many other gross and disgusting posts like this on the web that a simple search will bring up. I have also received threatening messages through social media, which I have reported and blocked. It is hard to communicate in words the feeling of being stalked, spied upon and trapped by constant, 24/7 media intrusion from helicopters and drones hovering overhead, to long range photographers stationed in boats, cars and on foot; with journalists leaping out from behind trees, hiding behind bins and cars seeking any which way to ambush you. The local police department has nobly tried to protect my family, at one point parking a marked car in my driveway. I have filed multiple harassment reports with the police, including against "journalists" trying to physically enter my house. Separation 9. It was this aggressive media posture which led to the decision that the only sure-fire means of ensuring the children's and my protection was for her to leave Massachusetts. 10. The media frenzy has included the publication of an article in the Boston Globe about the kids' school, ABC continuing to harass school leadership, and tabloid reporters pointing cameras at my children. This harassment is unacceptable and dangerous. II. This led to the difficult decision that for the safety and well-being of my family, Ghislaine having to leave and live on her own, shielding herself as best she could from the media hunting her. At one point, The Sun even put a "bounty" on her head. I assisted in the purchase of the New Hampshire property not for the purposes of evading law enforcement — there was never a warrant out for her arrest and her lawyers reported being in regular contact with the prosecution offering Ghislaine's assistance — but for the sole reason of protecting her and my family from the media. 21 Page EFTA00065660 Despite our best efforts, there have still been life altering consequences as a result of the media's harassment. This summer I resigned as the CEO of the company I founded and built over the past decade because my presence was becoming a distraction to an otherwise fantastic business. It wasn't fair to my colleagues that they be affected by the media attention that was occurring around me due to my association with Ghislaine, regardless of the facts as previously mentioned that I met her many years after the alleged misconduct, I do not know Jeffery Epstein, and otherwise have nothing to do with the situation. There are other examples of painful and real loss like this due to the media's aggressive treatment of those who simply know Ghislaine; the entire experience has been most regrettable. My support for her bail application 12. I believe that Ghislaine had nothing to do with Epstein's crimes. She has pleaded not guilty and denied the criminal allegations against her, and I fully believe that it is her intent and desire to remain in the U.S. to face the ensuing process and to clear her name. Over the past few years she has had dozens of alternative places she could have gone, but she did not want to be perceived as running or as having done something wrong. She was adamant to not only stay in the United States to fight the smears against her, but to be within driving distance of New York. This is why she chose to live in New Hampshire — to be close to New York and close to her family. She was not hiding from the SDNY, but she left Massachusetts to protect my family from the media and the consequences it was bringing upon our lives. Her arrest came as a shock. 13. I did not initially come fonvard as a co-signer of her first bail application for the reasons stated above, trying to protect my children from ferocious media aggression. The tabloids of The Daily Mail, The Sun, The New York Post, and The New York Times have particularly been pernicious, willingly printing disinformation and outright lies for a click. Ghislaine and I had discussed we would do everything in our power to protect my children from the evil of the media's intrusion into our lives. Protecting these innocent kids and their mother remains our utmost priority. 13. As a military veteran and a patriot of deep conviction and character, I believe wholeheartedly in Ghislaine's commitment to stand trial and not to seek to leave the jurisdiction should her bail application be successful. I pray for Ghislaine's safety. I am praying for justice. And I pray for her constitutionally afforded due process. With humility and deep compassion, I am also praying for Epstein's victims. 3 1Page EFTA00065661