U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan has denied a request by Ghislaine Maxwell to slap a gag order on prosectors and counsel for witnesses in her sex-trafficking case. Attorneys for Maxwell, the longtime “madam” to Jeffrey Epstein, had claimed that prosectors had staged a dramatic arrest and made outlandish public statements about Maxwell’s evasiveness, despite Maxwell being in close contact with the Southern District of New York for the past year. While Nathan denied the gag order request, she warned those involved in the case that she would “not hesitate to take appropriate action” if public statements are made that could affect Maxwell’s ability to receive a fair trial. Maxwell is in custody awaiting a possible 2021 trial on multiple charges of helping Epstein procure and abuse underage girls.