Epstein’s dark legend wraps Maxwell trial in web of conspiracy theories

Analysis: The task of Ghislaine Maxwell's defense may be to tangle her so deeply in Epstein's shadow that they cannot find her guilty

The graphic testimony presented to jurors in Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal sex abuse trial last week seemed at times to mesh and then detach from broader theories - criminal, conspiratorial or both - about the nature of Jeffrey Epstein's world.

Whether prosecutors and defense attorneys are successful in separating criminal conspiracy from the conspiracy theories that run through the entire Epstein-Maxwell narrative may determine how the criminal complaint against the 59-year-old former British socialite is ultimately resolved.