Confidential Jeffrey Epstein case documents unsealed

Several previously confidential documents related to Jeffrey Epstein have been made public in a New York court after a years-long battle over their release.

The first of what are expected to be hundreds of documents identifying more than 150 individuals were unsealed on Thursday (AEDT) after an order last month by US District Judge Loretta Preska. The documents were filed in redacted form as part of a 2015 lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 of participating in Epstein’s sex crimes.

Jeffrey Epstein poses for a mugshot in 2013.Credit: AP

While it was speculated the documents would reveal an Epstein client list, many of the names featured in the unsealed documents were widely reported former associates of the late financier, including former US president Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew. The first documents included emails, transcripts of depositions and legal filings.

Ties to Epstein have led to career downfalls for former Barclays chief executive Jes Staley and Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black and have tarnished the reputations of billionaires Bill Gates, Leslie Wexner and many other prominent men. All have denied knowing about or participating in inappropriate conduct with Epstein.

Much of the newly unsealed material includes transcripts of depositions that have been previously detailed in other cases.

That includes testimony from Epstein’s former butler, Alfredo Rodriquez, who recalled paying cash to young girls who visited Epstein’s property in Palm Beach, Florida, and Johanna Sjoberg, who claimed Prince Andrew placed a hand on her breast once at Epstein’s house.

Sjoberg testified that Epstein told her “Clinton likes them young, referring to girls”, according to one unsealed document. She also testified in a newly released deposition that she once met Michael Jackson at Epstein’s Palm Beach, Florida, home, but that nothing untoward happened with the late pop icon.

A spokesperson for Clinton cited a 2019 statement in which he denied knowing about or participating in inappropriate conduct with Epstein. In another document, a lawyer for Virginia Giuffre, the Epstein victim who sued Maxwell, said her client made no allegations of illegal actions by Clinton.

Giuffre’s lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, said the public had demanded to know how Epstein operated his vast sex-trafficking enterprise and got away with it for decades.

“The public interest must still be served in learning more about the scale and scope of Epstein’s racket to further the important goal of shutting down sex trafficking wherever it exists and holding more to account,” she said in a statement. “The unsealing of these documents gets us closer to that goal.”

Virginia Giuffre.Credit: AP

One document was a deposition of Maxwell, denying allegations about some of Epstein’s associates. Another was a subpoena to Jean-Luc Brunel, a fashion agent who died by suicide in 2022 after he was charged with rape and sexual harassment in France.

It’s unclear how much new information will be gleaned from the documents. Many of the people whose names will be unsealed are already known to have associated with Epstein, a fact Preska noted. Some have been named in similar litigation as well. Giuffre also sued Prince Andrew, who reached a settlement with her in 2022.

Preska said other names were disclosed during Maxwell’s criminal trial, at which a number of former Epstein employees appeared as witnesses. The financier’s former private pilot testified that a number of famous individuals flew on the plane, including Clinton and former US president Donald Trump. Eva Andersson-Dubin, an ex-girlfriend of Epstein who is now married to former hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin, testified for the defence at Maxwell’s trial.

Giuffre’s suit accused the Maxwell of recruiting her at the age of 16 for sexual abuse by Epstein. After Maxwell called her a liar, Giuffre also sued for defamation.

The two reached a settlement in 2017, but the Miami Herald asked the judge to unseal material filed during the case. Various objections from both Maxwell and people whose names appeared in the documents delayed the process, even as names became public through other means.

One of the unsealed documents contained emails between Maxwell and Giuffre’s lawyers at Boies Schiller.

Preska kept the names of several Epstein victims sealed, saying their interest in privacy outweighed the public’s interest in transparency. But she released the names of some victims who didn’t object to unsealing and have already identified themselves in media interviews.

Giuffre, who now lives in Australia, has been one of the most outspoken Epstein victims, drawing attention to high-profile individuals who were in Epstein’s orbit. In her suit against Andrew, she claimed he was one of several powerful men to whom Epstein “lent” her for abuse. The royal family later stripped King Charles’ younger brother of his honorific titles and royal patronages.

Epstein was charged with sex trafficking in July 2019 but died by suicide in a Manhattan prison cell before he could stand trial. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for sex-trafficking.

While Epstein has been dead for almost four years, his crimes have continued to resonate across Wall Street.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. last year agreed to pay $US365 million ($542 million) to settle two lawsuits it financially benefited from his sex trafficking and failed to act on red flags. Both cases focused on Epstein’s close friendship with Staley, who previously headed private banking for JPMorgan.

Bloomberg

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