#Ghislaine Maxwell judge picks Eptstein’s death date as eerie court deadline

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The Manhattan federal judge in the Ghislaine Maxwell case on Monday picked an eerie deadline for an upcoming court filing — the one-year anniversary of Jeffrey Epstein’s death.

Judge Lorette Preska wrote in a ruling that both sides need to suggest to her methods for “streamlining the unsealing process” in case a higher court orders key private documents released — and the date she gave the lawyers was Aug. 10.

Epstein — Maxwell’s accused sex-abuse cohort — died in a Manhattan jail that same date a year ago in what authorities ruled a suicide by hanging. The pedophile financier was awaiting trial on a slew of sex-related raps.

Maxwell, a former British socialite, is accused of recruiting and grooming Epstein’s victims and even sexually abusing some herself. She was arrested last month. She has denied any wrongdoing.

While a trove of sensational court documents was made public as part of the case last week, Maxwell has battled to keep sealed the sex-filled deposition she gave in a 2015 defamation suit filed against her by main Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre.

The deposition includes Maxwell talking about her “consensual, and intimate conduct with other adults,” according to court documents.

Judge Preska had ruled that the deposition should be unsealed but agreed to wait for Maxwell’s camp to appeal.

A court of appeals then agreed to hear arguments on the issue Sept. 22.

Meanwhile, Preska is asking both sides to prepare for the appeals court to rule in favor of unsealing, just in case, by offering suggestions on how to ease the process should it come to that.

— Additional reporting by Ben Feuerherd