Jeffrey Epstein list: New documents reveal paedophile’s responses to sex trafficking claims
Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Bill Richardson and other high profile figures have been named in the filings from a lawsuit between Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Over the past week thousands of pages of court documents relating to late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, have been made public after US judge Loretta Preska ordered the release of filings in a lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell.
The documents named scores of prominent figures including, Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Victoria’s Secret boss Les Wexner. Being identified through the court documents does not mean that the individual was involved in or aware of any wrongdoing by Epstein.
The final batch of documents, released on Tuesday, included depositions from Ms Giuffre, Maxwell and Epstein.
In Epstein’s deposition, he was questioned about his campaign of abuse of young and underage girls. He pleaded the Fifth over 1,000 times.
In Maxwell’s deposition, she was confronted with disturbing messages left for Epstein – one of which referenced what appeared to be code for procuring an underage Russian girl for Epstein. “She is two times eight years old. Not blond. Lessons are free and you can have your first today if you call,” it read.
Was anyone else involved in Epstein and Maxwell’s crimes?
Ahead of the unsealing, social media had been fascinated with the possibility that some of the rich and powerful men in Epstein’s social circle were also involved in the abuse. Being identified through the recently unsealed court documents does not mean that the individual was involved in or aware of any wrongdoing by Epstein.
New allegations emerged against and former Victoria Secret’s CEO Les Wexner, who Virginia Giuffre alleged she was trafficked to during a 2016 depositions. Mr Wexner has previously denied any involvement in Epstein’s sex trafficking ring.
“Mr Wexner was unaware of, and was never a participant in, any of the abhorrent behavior engaged in by Epstein against Epstein’s victims ... Mr Wexner ha[s] never met Ms Guiffre, and ... any claims to the contrary were not true,” a spokesperson told Business Insider.
Most of the figures alleged of taking part in crimes had already been named in previously released court dockets.
Ms Giuffre said she was trafficked to a prince and a former prime minister but declined to name them out of fears of retaliation, she said. Other names that have been linked to the same allegations are the late New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, former senator George Mitchel, AI pioneer Marvin Minsky, Tom Pritzker, Glenn Dubin, and Prince Andrew.
Mr Dershowitz previously denied allegations in 2015 that he had sex with an underage girl. Mr Dershowitz has again strongly denied those allegations in recent days.
A spokesperson for Senator Mitchell referred The Independent to a previous statement in which he categorically denied any wrongdoing, and pointed out that no new allegations have emerged regarding Senator Mitchell in the filings recently unsealed.
A representative for Mr Pritzker also said that he first rejected Ms Giuffre’s allegations in 2019 and “continues to vehemently deny” them.
A spokesperson for Mr Dubin told The Independent in a statement: “The Dubins strongly deny these allegations, as we first said in 2019 when these unsubstantiated statements first surfaced as part of this same civil court proceeding.”
The Duke of York has also strongly denied Ms Giuffre’s allegations in the past.
The names of two people who Ms Giuffre alleged she was trafficked to, one of them a politician, remain redacted.
Donald Trump’s alleged ‘sexual proclivities’ graphically detailed in new Epstein documents
Graphic details about Donald Trump’s alleged “sexual proclivities” have emerged in the latest round of court documents containing details of late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s associates.
The new documents contain “incendiary claims” about the former president, including accusations that he had sexual relations with “many girls”, made by one of Epstein’s alleged victims, Sarah Ransome.
Mr Trump’s name has appeared a handful of times previously in the documents and, while not accusing him of wrongdoing, appears to illustrate the good relationship he had with the disgraced financier.
In the newly unsealed documents, Ms Ransome testified that her unnamed friend “was one of the many girls that had sexual relations with Donald Trump” – including at Epstein’s New York townhouse.
Read the full story:
Trump’s alleged ‘sexual proclivities’ graphically detailed in new Epstein documents
The new papers contain ‘incendiary claims’ about the former president
Who are Does 107 and 110?
A request by The Miami Herald for a master list of all the J Does in the case to be released, seconded by Alan Dershowitz, was denied last week by Judge Preska. The names of 10 Jane Does mentioned in the filings will remain under seal because their right to privacy as victims outweighed the public’s right to know.
A J Doe, 107, has until 22 January to submit proof to the court that the release of their name will put them at risk of physical harm.
Meanwhile, a request by a second J Doe, 110, to keep their name under seal is currently being reviewed by the court.
Ghislaine Maxwell features in documents over 1,000 times
Unsurprisingly, Epstein’s partner in crime Ghislaine Maxwell is one of the names that features the most, appearing over 1000 times in the first five batches of documents.
The British socialite’s name appears in full hundreds of times, due to the files being part of a 2015 US defamation case by Virginia Giuffre against her, though the name “Maxwell” appears still more, sometimes in reference to legal matters and footnotes.
References to Maxwell were made throughout the documents, with various other witnesses being asked about her involvement with Epstein in their separate testimonies.
Much of the information in the third and fourth tranches of evidence, released on Friday, was taken from Maxwell’s own despositions. They included questions over her interactions with Prince Andrew and Ms Giuffre as well as with former president Bill Clinton and others.
She is currently serving 20 years in prison, having been convicted sex-trafficking underage girls in June 2022.
Did Epstein have a client list?
If Epstein kept a physical list of the men who paid him to have sex with young women, it has never come up in legal filings.
Items seized by the Palm Beach Police Department during their initial investigation in 2005-06 included phone messages left for Epstein, and grocery lists, as recently unsealed documents show, but there is no mention of a compiled list of alleged clients.
In 2015, Gawker published Epstein’s “Little Black Book,” which appeared to be a directory with hundreds of celebrity names. According to a 2009 article in The New York Times, Epstein’s house manager Alfredo Rodriguez tried to sell the book before it was published.
However, there was no indication that the names listed in the book were clients of Epstein, and some of those listed have contested they never even met Epstein.
Clinton Center deletes controversial post after Epstein filings
The Clinton Presidential Center briefly posted on X wondering to whom former president Bill Clinton sent his first email after his name was revealed in the unsealed Epstein documents.
“On November 7, 1998, Pres. @BillClinton typed out and sent his first-ever email. Can you guess who it was to? #WorldTying Day,” the tweet said from the @ClintonCenter account, according to screenshots circulating on X.
The X post featured a photo of Mr Clinton typing on a clunky 1990s laptop and tagged the Clinton Presidential Library.
Read the story here:
Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘paedophile island’ is getting a major rebrand - as a luxury resort
For years, it was known to victims as the “paedophile island”.
It was a place where Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell lured girls and vulnerable young women, dazzled by the glamour of a spectacular, paradise Caribbean island.
Once there – and with no way of getting off the islands – these victims were sexually abused by Epstein and allegedly trafficked to his powerful, wealthy circle of clients.
Dozens of celebrities and famous figures also visited the 70-plus-acre island of Little St. James and 160-plus-acre island of Great St. James – visits that, based on what later came to light, many would rather erase from public memory.
There’s no denying that these islands have dark pasts.
But, they are now having a total makeover – courtesy of a new owner and his grand plans to transform the infamous hideaway into a luxury, five-star resort...
Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘paedophile island’ is getting a major rebrand - as a luxury resort
It was a place where Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell lured their victims. But, soon Little St. James and and Great St. James will be welcoming guests to a luxury, five-star paradise. Rachel Sharp reports
Jean Luc Brunel left note about Russian girl ‘two times eight years old’ for Epstein
Maxwell was confronted with detailed phone tones left for Epstein at his Florida home. The notes were seized by the Palm Beach Police Department during the initial investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring.
One of the notes referenced what appeared to be code for procuring a minor Russian girl for Epstein.
“I will direct your attention to [redacted] so you will skip a page and go back, it’s the final page in the message pads and you will see on the top left for Jeffrey, on 6/1/2005 from Jean Luc Brunel with a phone number,” Maxwell was asked.
“It says, quote, He has a teacher for you to teach you how to speak Russian. She is two times eight years old. Not blond. Lessons are free and you can have your first today if you call.”
Brunel, a Parisian model scout, died by suicide in a French jail last year while awaiting trial on sexual assault charges.
Who’s on the Epstein list?
Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton are among the more than 100 people named in the newly-published legal documents linked to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Being named in these documents does not indicate any wrongdoing related to Epstein or anyone else.
The list includes many of Epstein’s accusers and alleged victims, as well as people with only tangential connections to Epstein who were pulled into the lawsuit against Maxwell.
Prince Andrew appears prominently, with the documents mentioning a previously reported accusation that he groped Johanna Sjoberg (which he denies). Former US presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump are also named, with neither accused of wrongdoing.
Judges, court staff and legal represenatives are not included.
Here’s the list of names in full:
The Epstein List: Full list of names revealed in unsealed court records so far
Prince Andrew, David Copperfield and Bill Clinton are among the names included in court documents published
Why have the secret Epstein documents been released now?
These thousands of pages of documents aren’t new.
They are part of a defamation lawsuit brought against Ghislaine Maxwell back in 2015 by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre.
Ms Giuffre filed the suit after Maxwell accused her of lying about the years-long abuse she had suffered at the hands of Epstein and some in his inner circle.
The case went through the courts for two years – and dozens of individuals sat for depositions and gave testimony on both sides – before the suit was settled in 2017.
At the time, a judge placed the filings under a protective seal – with the identities of those named in the filings kept under lock and key.
But, The Miami Herald – whose investigative reporting first exposed Epstein’s crimes – sued for the release of all of the sealed documents.
Around 2,000 pages of documents were first unsealed in 2019, with further documents released over the following years.
But, this current trove of documents remained sealed – and the names of hundreds of people associated with the dead paedophile were kept secret, known only as Jane and John Does.
Maxwell’s legal team sought to block it for years – before finally giving up the fight in 2022.
Virginia Giuffre with Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell at Epstein’s townhouse
Then, in a landmark ruling in December, US District Judge Loretta Preska ruled that the trove of documents could be released and the names unsealed in full, saying that there was no legal justification to keep the names of Epstein’s associates redacted as “John and Jane Does”.
She also argued that much of the information is already available publicly, having been revealed through other lawsuits, criminal cases or media reports.
The judge’s ruling thereby paved the way for the release of the documents – and the names and ties of those linked to the notorious disgraced financier unmasked.
Individuals named in the documents were given 14 days to appeal, before the documents were to be unsealed in full from 1 January.
Two individuals asked for their names to remain under seal.
The first, known only as Doe 107, claimed that she lives in a conservative country and could be at risk of physical harm if her name is revealed. The judge granted her an extension until 22 January to provide evidence for this.
The request from the second individual, Doe 110, is still under review.
The federal judge has also ordered the names of several Epstein victims to remain anonymous.
But, beyond this, all documents were ordered to be released. All redacted names unredacted. And all revelations made public.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.