Lauren Boebert Says Ghislaine Maxwell Trial Will Spur 'Misguided Outrage'

Congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado has commented on disgraced socialite Ghislaine Maxwell's trial that starts Monday, with the Republican lawmaker telling her Twitter followers that the case would spur "leftist panic" and "misguided outrage."

"Tomorrow the Ghislaine Maxwell trial begins. Get ready for a higher-than-usual amount of leftist panic and misguided outrage," Boebert tweeted Sunday.

Prosecutors allege Maxwell, 59, groomed girls as young as 14 to have sex with convicted financier Jeffrey Epstein and lied about her knowledge of his crimes when she testified in an earlier case. She has pleaded not guilty on all counts. Epstein died in a New York prison cell in August 2019 as he awaited his trial on sex trafficking charges.

The British socialite's trial begins Monday in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan at 8.30 a.m. Prosecutors will focus on four women who say they were recruited by Maxwell as teenagers to be abused by Epstein. No cameras will be allowed in the courtroom.

The prosecution will outline the case and preview evidence and witnesses. The defense will allege Maxwell's accusers might have unreliable memories, according to a letter from Maxwell's attorney.

Virginia Giuffre, a woman who says she was trafficked to Britain's Prince Andrew as a teenager, is hoping to see "justice done" from afar as Ghislaine Maxwell goes on trial, her lawyer has said. Giuffre claimed Epstein and Maxwell flew her around the world when she was 17 and 18 for sexual encounters with billionaires, politicians, royals and heads of state. Giuffre sent the Daily Mail a photo of herself and Andrew together in Maxwell's London townhouse, his arm on her midriff. However, U.S. prosecutors won't bring charges connected to Guiffre to Maxwell's trial, and the accuser isn't expected to be called in as a witness either.

Boebert's comments about the Maxwell trial are not the first time she has courted controversy. She issued an apology to the Muslim community on November 26 for comments she made about Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. Boebert referred to her House colleague as a member of the "Jihad Squad" during a discussion about the censure of fellow Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona earlier this month.

Boebert also trolled actor Alec Baldwin in October after he accidentally shot a colleague dead on the set of the film Rust. The actor was given a prop gun and was reportedly assured that it was safe before he fired it on set on October 21, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

Boebert, an outspoken gun-rights activist, resurfaced a seven-year-old tweet shared by Baldwin in support of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.

"I'm going to make bright, banana yellow t-shirts that read "My hands are up. Please don't shoot me," Baldwin tweeted in December 2014.

"@AlecBaldwin are these still available? Asking for a movie producer," Boebert wrote, alongside a screenshot of Baldwin's remarks. Boebert's comments drew backlash from Democrats and Republicans.