He British Prince Andrewthe exes Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump And Stephen Hawking are among the people named in court documents linked to Ghislaine Maxwell. They all come to light in a first batch of documents released by the New York Department of Justice relating to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, accused of human trafficking and sexual abuse of minors.
The documents are part of one 2015 libel lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, One of Epstein's main accusers against his ex-lover and partner British heiress Ghislaine Maxwell, And they monopolized media attention because they expected it to focus on prominent figures close to the billionaire.
However, many of the names are expected to already be known as they were identified in the 2021 trial of Maxwell – sentenced to 20 years in prison Supporting the financier in the sexual abuse of minors– or because they have given interviews or been the subject of complaints.
The documents released today include several statements from Giuffre and Maxwell. There is also a statement from Johanna Sjoberg, another of Epstein's victims, claiming this Prince Andrew of England touched her breasts at the financier's Manhattan home when she was 21. The story was already known, but this is the first time that the court document containing his testimony has been made public.
Sjoberg also testified that Epstein told him when Former US President Bill Clinton (1993-2001) “liked young people, i.e. girls”, as can be read in one of the documents. Clinton, whose name has been linked to the financier on several occasions, claims he knew nothing of his crimes.
The judge Loretta Preska, of the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York, had ordered that the previously sealed documents, which contain the identities of around 150 people, be made public from January 1st.
The mention in the documents does not imply any guilt, because there is everything from emails to statements from victims or witnesses. The identities of those who were minors or did not speak publicly remain secret.
The deadline was set to give anyone who opposes having their name published time to object. At least two people have objected and have until January 22nd to explain their reasons. The first batch of documents, published this Wednesday, totals around 1,000 pages.
It was already known that the final list would include the name of Prince Andrew, whom Giuffre sued for sexual abuse and with whom she reached an out-of-court settlement, and also that of former President Clinton, whom Giuffre unsuccessfully tried to subpoena to testify.
Clinton, against whom no charges are pending, appears on the passenger lists of Epstein's flights to various countries, but his possible presence on one of the financier's islands is unclear, which Giuffre claims but denies. Epstein committed suicide in 2019 in a federal prison in New York where he was awaiting trial for allegedly setting up a child trafficking ring at his mansions in the Big Apple and Florida. According to prosecutors, the youngest girls were 14 years old.