Ghislaine Maxwell's attorney wants a gag order so prosecutors will stop saying bad things about the accused sex trafficker

• An attorney for Ghislaine Maxwell is requesting a gag order for the federal case against her.
• The request asks the judge to bar prosecutors and attorneys representing witnesses from speaking publicly about the case.
• Maxwell was arrested on July 2 on charges related to the procuring and grooming of young girls for sexual abuse.

A lawyer for Ghislaine Maxwell has asked a federal judge to forbid prosecutors or witness attorneys — which would include her accusers — from speaking publicly about the case.

The request, filed in federal court and reviewed by Insider, seeks to stop federal prosecutors from offering "any opinion" that damages Maxwell's opportunity for a fair trial.

Jeffrey Pagliuca, one of Maxwell's lawyers, asked Judge Alison J. Nathan to issue a gag order preventing the lawyers from speaking to the press.

"Although Ms. Maxwell is presumed innocent, the Government, its agents, witnesses, and their lawyers have made, and continue to make, statements prejudicial to a fair trial," Pagliuca wrote in the Tuesday filing.

Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's longtime associate and girlfriend, was arrested on July 2 on charges that she procured and groomed young girls who they later sexually abused.

The federal case filed in the Southern District of New York has grabbed the attention of global media and civilians.

More than 1,000 people, including journalists, attempted to dial into the British socialite's arraignment, which was held by teleconference earlier this month. Thousands more watched amateur videos of the court hearing that were livestreamed online, even as the judge forbade the hearing from being broadcasted.

At the time of Maxwell's arrest, Acting US Attorney Audrey Strauss held a press conference in which she laid out the charges against her.

In addition to charges of transporting minors for sexual abuse, Maxwell also faces perjury charges stemming from statements she made under oath during a civil investigation into her and Epstein's behavior.

"Maxwell lied because the truth, as alleged, was almost unspeakable," Strauss said at the time. "Maxwell enticed minor girls, got them to trust her, and then delivered them into the trap that she and Epstein had set for them."

Lawyers for some of the young girls that prosecutors have said were abused by Maxwell or Epstein spoke to the media, including Insider, about the case.

Pagliuca called some of these comments improper.

"It appears that given any opportunity lawyers associated with the prosecution of this case will offer any opinion that damages Ms. Maxwell's opportunity for a fair trial," he wrote. "Entry of an order prohibiting extrajudicial statements, therefore, is a necessary remedy to avoid further dissemination of prejudicial information."

As of Wednesday afternoon, Nathan had not yet ruled on the request.

• Read more:
• Ghislaine Maxwell, the woman suspected of helping Jeffrey Epstein run a sex-abuse ring, has been arrested by the FBI
• Here's the indictment against Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's longtime girlfriend accused of sexually abusing young girls
• Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested at a $1 million luxury 4-bedroom New Hampshire house that was bought last year in cash
• The life of Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender and well-connected financier who died in jail awaiting sex trafficking charges