DOJ-OGR-00001867.jpg

Case 1:20-cr-00330-AJN Document 91 Filed 12/07/20 Page 2 of 10

LAW OFFICES OF BOBBI C. STERNHEIM

scheduled for August 17th, it fails to report that the VTC was unsuccessful because the audio connection failed; and, despite constant ongoing requests, no subsequent VTCs have been scheduled.

The letter ignores the fact that there is an outbreak of COVID in the MDC, with some 80 inmates testing positive, far in excess of the number of positive cases reported from March to December. See https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/BOP (reported 12/7/20). While Ms. Maxwell is isolated from general population inmates, the crew of security guards who monitor her 24/7 are not subject to mandatory testing, with some guards assigned to her detail rotating in from BOP facilities where inmates and staff have tested positive. And while Ms. Maxwell may not be exposed to other inmates, she is exposed to individuals while escorted to a common area for body scanning, further risking her exposure to COVID.

While reciting BOP policy, the letter fails to address:

■ why as an isolated inmate, Ms. Maxwell is subject to repeated searching;

■ why Ms. Maxwell is under 24/7 surveillance by a cadre of officers who are required to report her status every 15 minutes;

■ why Ms. Maxwell is constantly surveilled by a hand-held camera, even during attorney-client conferences;

■ why all of Ms. Maxwell’s legal emails were erased from the CorrLinks system;

■ why immediately after receiving two nasal swab COVID tests, Ms. Maxwell was required to remove her mask for an in-mouth inspection, heightening her exposure to COVID as she was placed in quarantine;

■ why Ms. Maxwell’s legal papers are repeatedly inspected.

Warden Tellez has failed to respond to our assertion that the MDC has imposed extraordinarily onerous conditions of constraint on Ms. Maxwell to avoid the catastrophic consequences of negligence occurring at the MCC that resulted in the death of Jeffrey Epstein. The Attorney General of the United States has said as much. Beyond the decision to not place Ms. Maxwell in general population, to which we have no objection, the letter virtually concedes that other restrictions imposed on Ms. Maxwell are not in response to any concern specific to her and tacitly suggests the heightened restrictions are in response to the high-profile nature of the case and the acknowledged failure by the BOP to keep Epstein – an actual threat to himself – alive. As ABC News reported:

Attorney General William Barr told ABC News on Wednesday that he is keeping a close watch to make sure that Maxwell makes it to trial after Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial last year. Barr said he was "livid" Epstein died while in custody last August. The investigation into Epstein has continued even after his death. I believe very strongly in that case," Barr told ABC News on Wednesday. . . . “And as