The long awaited trial of Ghislaine Maxwell has begun. The prosecution and the defense have both amassed impressive teams of extremely accomplished attorneys and both sides are expected to be aggressive and very effective in their respective roles. A jury of peers has been paneled and, given the nature of the charges, the public is anxiously anticipating daily salacious updates on the progress of events from within those hallowed halls of justice.

But this trial is not really about Ghislaine Maxwell nor is it about the late Jeffery Epstein. The true defendant is the American system of justice. Mr. Epstein did not survive pretrial incarceration, Ms. Maxwell did although most folks did not believe she would. And so the trial has begun.

No one can accurately predict how twelve honest citizens will view the evidence presented or what verdict they will reach based on their interpretation of that evidence. But, as a pseudo jury of one, I am convinced that whatever they decide it will be based not on the totality of evidence available but on a narrow, carefully selected portion of that which the government possesses concerning the criminal careers of Maxwell and Epstein.

Based on prior reporting and logical deduction a reasonable person would conclude that Epstein amassed his considerable fortune by providing underage girls as sex partners to a number of wealthy, highly placed individuals and recording them in the act. According to the same reports, Maxwell was his partner and chief facilitator.

When Epstein’s criminal enterprise crumbled the FBI conducted a series of raids on his properties and seized what was described as his complete collection of video evidence showing his clients engaged in sexual misconduct with the aforementioned underage girls. This being the same video evidence that he allegedly used to coerce those clients into sharing their large fortunes with him.

Under a truly just, moral and ethical system that trove of evidence would have long since been brought to light, investigations completed and repercussions brought to bear. That is what would have occurred under a truly just, moral and ethical system but not under a system in which Lady Justice no longer wears a blindfold.

The trial will run its course, the media will give daily play by play reports and eventually those twelve of Maxwell’s peers will render a verdict. I predict she will be convicted and sentenced to something less than the maximum allowable term. The Epstein saga will draw to a close with all legal cases closed, as if the entire entire scheme had been solely to satisfy the deviant sexual desires of Jeffrey Epstein. No one captured on the videos will ever be exposed.

The FBI will retain custody of the videos and the futures of all the individuals who starred in them will belong to the government into perpetuity, subject to whatever term is used to describe official blackmail and Lady Justice will weep once more.