The names of acquaintances and associates of Jeffrey Epstein—including that of former US presidents and British royalty— were released last week.
The documents– in about 950 pages– are all related to a defamation lawsuit that one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre, filed in 2015 against the millionaire’s girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was accused by multiple women of helping Epstein recruit underage victims.
The suit was settled in 2017 and Maxwell was later prosecuted and sentenced to 20-year prison. Epstein was charged in 2019 with sex trafficking and killed himself in jail while awaiting trial.
What the documents reveal?
The released documents have confirmed the scale of both Epstein’s alleged sex-trafficking ring and his powerful social network.
The documents have names of celebrities and politicians who socialized with Epstein or worked with him in the years before he was publicly accused nearly two decades ago of paying underage girls for sex.
It included excerpts of testimony from people who worked for Epstein, copies of phone messages he received — including one from Harvey Weinstein — and lots of legal memos from lawyers discussing who could potentially have been called as a witness if the lawsuit ever went to trial.
Juan Alessi, who worked at Epstein’s sprawling home from 1990 to 2002, previously testified at Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2021 trial that he saw “many, many, many” young adult female visitors, often lounging topless by the pool. He also admitted to stealing $6,300 from Epstein’s desk.
Here are some of the high-profile names that have emerged in the case:
Prince Andrew
The documents contain allegations that Epstein forced a woman, referred to as Jane Doe #3, to have sexual relations with Prince Andrew when she was a minor at Ghislaine Maxwell’s flat in London, in New York, and on Epstein’s private island “in an orgy with numerous other underaged girls”.
Juan Alessi talked about how much time the financier spent with Prince Andrew, the British royal. Alessi testified that “Prince Andrew spent weeks with us” and when he visited, he would receive daily massages at the mansion.
In 2021, Virginia Giuffre sued Prince Andrew over alleged sexual assault on three occasions when she was 17, leading to speculation that Jane Doe #3 is Giuffre.
Prince Andrew was publicly criticized when photos emerged of him visiting Epstein in New York even after the financier was imprisoned in Florida for a sex crime.
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton has also been named in the documents at least 50 times and flight records show that Epstein’s plane was used by Clinton after his presidential tenure and he visited places like Paris, Bangkok, and Brunei.
Johanna Sjoberg, one of Epstein’s victims, testified that Epstein had told her that “Clinton likes them young, referring to girls.”
The former US president’s ties with Epstein has long been the subject of media scrutiny. The two had connected while Clinton was working on his nonprofit group the Clinton Foundation, and in 2002, they took a trip to Africa on Epstein’s private jet.
Donald Trump
Donald Trump—whose relationship with Epstein was also widely reported—was also mentioned in Sjoberg’s 2016 testimony.
Trump once called Epstein a “terrific guy” when he made in the news for providing the private jet for then President Bill Clinton’s trip to Africa. But Trump later said he had a falling out with him. “I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years. I was not a fan of his,” Trump said in 2019.
Alan Dershowitz
Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz, a well-known figure for his work in US criminal law, has also been named in the Jeffrey Epstein list. The documents pertaining to him include allegations made by a woman referred to as Jane Doe #3.
Jane Doe #3 said Epstein “required” her to have sexual relations with Dershowitz on multiple occasions when she was a minor. According to Epstein’s household employees, the lawyer was present at Epstein’s residence without his family and in the presence of girls.
Michael Jackson
Johanna Sjoberg, a victim, said she saw the late singer at Epstein’s residence. When she was asked if she gave him a massage, she said no.
Stephen Hawking
The name of Stephen Hawking was included in a 2015 email in which Epstein told Ghislaine Maxwell to offer a reward to any of Virginia Giuffre’s “friends acquaitonts family” who could prove false an allegation that Hawking had participated in an “underage orgy” in the Virgin Islands, according to The Guardian.
In 2015, photos emerged showing Stephen Hawking on Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean Island before Epstein’s initial charges in 2006. The images depicted Hawking at a barbecue on Little St James and participating in a boat cruise and submarine tour.
However, Hawking, who died in 2018, has not been accused of a crime related to Epstein.
Jean-Luc Brunel
Jean-Luc Brunel, a French model scout who was awaiting trial on charges of raping underage girls, died by suicide in a Paris jail in 2022. Giuffre and several other women accused Brunel of sexual abuse.
Other Names
Several other names that also figure in the list are: Computer scientist Marvin Minsky, Epstein’s lawyer Alan Dershowitz, billionaire Glenn Dubin, Leslie Wexner, former governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson, Epstein’s former assistant Sarah Kellen and American magician David Copperfield.
Comments
0 comment