Ghislaine Maxwell charged with two perjury counts for role in Jeffrey Epstein case – live

Here’s what prosecutor Audrey Strauss had to say as she unveiled the charges against Ghislaine Maxwell:

Prosecutors at the press conference on the arrest this morning of British socialite and media heiress Ghislaine Maxwell, accused of being involved with Jeffrey Epstein’s child sex crimes, addressed victims of Epstein.

“There never was nor shall there be an excuse for the criminal behavior you were subjected to,” William Sweeney, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, said in Manhattan moments ago.

Prosecutors appeared acutely aware that girls and women are often blamed for becoming victims of sexual abuse and frequently, often for decades, blame themselves for what happened. The Feds at the press conference today made a particular point of speaking in their direction to absolve them for crimes and alleged crimes perpetrated by Epstein and, they accuse, by Maxwell indirectly and directly.

Prosecutors accused Ghislaine Maxwell of lying about the true nature of her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and of lying under oath.

She lied “because the truth – as alleged – was almost unspeakable,” federal prosecutor Audrey Strauss said.

“She set the trap. She pretended to be a women they could trust.”

Strauss is now taking questions again.

She was asked about Prince Andrew. She said “we would like to have the benefit of his statement.”

Strauss declined to offer more comments on the Duke of York.

More on Prince Andrew’s connection to the case here.

New York police department commissioner Dermot Shea gave brief remarks. He thanked law enforcement officials and said that although these crimes happened decades ago for the victims they are “as fresh today” as they were then.

FBI assistant director in charge Bill Sweeney has now taken the podium.

“We moved when we were ready and the arrest happened without incident,” Sweeney said. Sweeney went on to say that Maxwell “assisted Mr. Epstein’s abuse of minor girls” by befriending the innocent and “attempted to normalize sexual abuse.”

Sweeney also said Maxwell lied under oath.

SDNY acting district attorney Audrey Strauss just said that the SDNY office has charged Maxwell with two perjury counts.

“We are committed to prosecuting those who exploit minors, in this case and every case,” Strauss said.

Prosecutor Audrey Strauss, acting United States attorney for the southern district of New York, said that between 1994 and 1997, Ghislaine Maxwell played “a critical role” in helping Jeffrey Epstein with his pattern of abusing underage girls.

Maxwell and Epstein would “befriend and groom minors for abuse,” Strauss said.

“In some cases, Maxwell participated in abuse herself,” she said.

The couple would pick out girls, asking them about their lives and “pretending to take an interest in them”, taking them to the movies and shopping trips.

But it turned into sexual abuse, the prosecutor said.

Prosecutors announce they have taken Maxwell into custody and charged her in relation to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes.

The US attorney for the southern district of New York will announce charges against Ghislaine Maxwell at a 12pm ET/4pm GMT press conference on Thursday. Maxwell was arrested in connection to the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Joe Biden appears to want to respond to Donald Trump’s Thursday morning press conference on the economy. The former vice president’s campaign just sent out an advisory that he will hold a press conference on the economic crisis and latest jobs report in about 15 minutes.

Coronavirus cases keep rising in states with governors that moved quickly to reopen. Thursday saw a surge in both Arizona and Florida.

Arizona saw an increase.

Florida saw an uptick too.

At 3:00 p.m. today Pence is slated to hold a briefing with Florida governor Ron DeSantis on COVID-19.

Meanwhile other governors are issuing new pleas for Americans to wear masks to prevent COVID-19 from spreading.

Arizona congressman Andy Biggs wants to see the White House’s coronavirus task force disbanded.

At times Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, have offered contradictory assessments to Trump on the seriousness of the pandemic. Fauci recently warned that new coronavirus cases could reach 100,000 per day.

Even as Trump has downplayed the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic, the White House has continued its coronavirus task force, chaired by vice president Mike Pence.

Pence has also continued to hold regular meetings with all 50 U.S. governors to discuss dealing with the pandemic. Those conference call meetings are usually every Monday.

In Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s remarks at this morning’s press conference he not only said that the Trump administration has no regrets over urging states to reopen, he also said that judging when to reopen is primarily the states’ responsibility.

That last bit has been an important and persistent aspect of the Trump administration’s push to reopen states amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Although Trump and his team have said it’s safe to reopen they’ve caveated that by saying the ultimate responsibility lies in each state’s governor and top officials there. That cautionary argument seems to be a precaution against any blame the administration could field about reopening.

Coronavirus cases have recently seen a dramatic uptick, especially in states that have moved quickly to reopen. On Wednesday the U.S. surpassed 50,000 new cases of coronavirus cases, a new daily record.

Former president Barack Obama is teaming up with Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker for a fundraiser for former vice president Joe Biden.

This is significant as even though Obama has been actively supporting Biden, he and his team have been a bit slower to do high dollar fundraisers.

The Biden campaign has made gains in fundraising over the past few months. In June the Biden campaign along with the Democratic National Committee outraised the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee.

But the Biden campaign and DNC did not release a cash on hand number, while the Trump team did. That suggests that the Democratic presidential apparatus still has less money to work with than their Republican opponents, even though they’re trending in an upward direction.

Obama is incredibly popular in fundraising circles and has proven he can still raise large sums of money, even out of office. A recent grassroots fundraiser for Biden featuring Obama raised over $11 million.

One other important note from today’s press conference. After Trump left Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin took questions. He argued that the Trump administration does not regret urging states to reopen.

That comment comes even though states that moved quickly to reopen saw upticks in COVID-19 cases.