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

Which big names are on Epstein’s list?

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.

Key points

• Unsealing of documents related to decades of Epstein’s sexual abuse of girls concludes
• What were the allegations against Epstein and Maxwell?
• Epstein refused to say if he tried to blackmail Prince Andrew over ‘sexual encounter’, documents reveal
• Aaron Rodgers refuses to apologise over feud with Jimmy Kimmel

[11 January 2024 11:00 · Andrea Blanco]

Trump hits back at Epstein allegations after list unsealed: ‘Stupid island’

Donald Trump lashed out at allegations that he was on the plane of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, who died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019.

The former president took to Truth Social on Wednesday to share screenshots of a Daily Mail article criticising actor Mark Ruffalo after he backtracked after sharing fake images of Mr Trump on Mr Epstein’s plane surrounded by young girls that turned out to have been created by artificial intelligence.

[11 January 2024 11:30 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

How did Jeffrey Epstein make his money?

For many, Jeffrey Epstein’s name is now solely associated with the murky world of sex trafficking, with the well-connected multi-millionaire accused of targeting young women and girls from across the world.

It is a reputation he took to his grave when he killed himself in his prison cell while facing charges of running a “vast network” of underage girls, leaving his associate and ex-partner Ghislaine Maxwell to receive a 20-year prison sentence.

But before the numerous accusations came to light, Epstein was publicly known for his rise in the finance world; rising from a school drop-out to one of the richest men in America, with former US presidents and Hollywood stars among his acquaintances.

Epstein even boasted of having two private islands in the Caribbean - Great St James and Little St James - as well as properties in New York and Palm Beach in Florida.

Read the full story here:

[11 January 2024 12:00 · Andrea Blanco]

Court strikes inaccurate transcription from Epstein’s deposition transcript

A transcript released on Tuesday showed that Epstein had allegedly answered “yes” after being asked if he had sent Virginia Giuffre to have sex with Glenn Dubin.

The court filed an order on Tuesday, reading: “This Court expressly ordered that lines 217:17-19 of the deposition transcript should remain under seal because they contained a mistaken transcription, and the answer transcribed was not the answer actually given.”

[11 January 2024 12:30 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

Epstein victim claimed she was sex trafficked to former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner

Jeffrey Epstein’s victim Virginia Giuffre claimed that she was trafficked to former Victoria Secret’s CEO Les Wexner, newly unsealed documents show.

The allegations emerged in a 2016 deposition by Ms Giuffre, which was part of likely the final batch of documents ordered unsealed by Judge Loretta Preska in the now-settled litigation between Ms Giuffre and Epstein’s fixer Ghislaine Maxwell.

Although Ms Giuffre had previously alleged she had been trafficked to other high-profile figures, it is the first time that allegations have emerged that Mr Wexner had sex with underage girls.

The Independent has reached out to L Brands group for comment.

Ms Giuffre claimed that she was trafficked to have sex with Mr Wexner between three and ten times during the time that she was recruited by Epstein and Maxwell. Ms Giuffre said that she was instructed by Maxwell to wear lingerie for Mr Wexner – which Maxwell went on to categorically deny in her own deposition.

Read the full story here:

[11 January 2024 13:00 · Andrea Blanco]

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.

The Independent’s Kelly Rissman reports:

[11 January 2024 20:18 · Mike Bedigan]

Unanswered questions from the Epstein documents

The highly anticipated release of a trove of documents relating to disgraced financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein concluded with a fifth and final batch of filings unsealed on Tuesday.

However, many questions remain, including the identities of two J Does mentioned in the documents who remain anonymous. Judge Loretta Preska has yet to rule on whether the two names will be released to the public.

Andrew Blanco explores the questions that remain unanswered.

[11 January 2024 21:00 · Mike Bedigan]

Why were the secret Epstein documents released now?

Over the past week, thousands of pages of court documents were publicly released for the first time, revealing the names of individuals who associated with the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, Prince Andrew, magician David Copperfield and several Hollywood celebrities all found themselves on the so-called “Epstein list”.

Their names in the filings do not indicate any wrongdoing or any involvement in Epstein’s crimes.

Epstein was arrested on federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York in July 2019. He was found dead in his prison cell a month later.

So why have the previously sealed documents beeen made public now?

[11 January 2024 22:00 · Mike Bedigan]

Alleged associates of Jeffrey Epstein: Names and numbers

The multiple batches of unsealed Jeffrey Epstein court documents revealed a number of high-profile individuals whose names appeared multiple times in various materials, including footnotes.

Among them are two former US presidents – Donald Trump and Bill Clinton – and Prince Andrew, all three of whom have been pictured with and known to associate with the disgraced financier in the past.

Other names include lawyer Alan Dershowitz, magician David Copperfield, Michael Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio.

However, being identified through the court documents does not necessarily mean that the individual was involved in or aware of any wrongdoing by Epstein.

[11 January 2024 23:00 · Mike Bedigan]

The Epstein list: How public figures and associates reacted to being named

Read more about how some of the high-profile names at the centre of the trove of court documents have responded to being named:

[12 January 2024 00:00 · Mike Bedigan]

What’s next for Ghislaine Maxwell now secret Epstein files have been released?

Ghislaine Maxwell had once lived a life as one of Britain’s most well-connected socialites, mingling with US presidents, royalty and celebrities.

The daughter of the media tycoon Robert Maxwell now spends her days holed up in a cell in Florida, after being jailed for 20 years for child abuse and sex-trafficking in the service of her former boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein.

Over the course of the late 1990s and early 2000s, she helped lure and recruit a number of underage girls to work for the US billionaire, only for them to be forced to give sexual massages and allegedly abused by his associates.

The Independent’s Holly Evans reports: