Court documents concerning Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged victims and associates were released on Wednesday following years of public speculation about who the disgraced financier and accused sex trafficker may have involved in his schemes.
The newly unsealed court documents are part of a now-settled civil suit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who accused Epstein and his partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, of coercing her to have sex with Epstein and others when she was 16. The documents include depositions, emails and other legal filings.
The documents released on Wednesday are the first 40 of more than 200 that will be unsealed in coming days. While many bold-faced names appear in the documents, not all of the people named are accused of misconduct. And all of the men accused by Giuffre and others in depositions of acting illegally have denied any wrongdoing.
In a 2016 deposition included in the filings, Giuffre says Maxwell directed her to have sex with Prince Andrew, billionaire Glenn Dubin, model scout Jean-Luc Brunel and artificial intelligence researcher Marvin Minsky. Giuffre also said Maxwell directed her to give a “massage” to former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.
Several names in Giuffre’s deposition remain redacted.
In an email to Maxwell included in the documents, Epstein tells her to “issue a reward” to any friends or family members of Giuffre’s who would be willing to discredit her accusations.
One document alleges that Epstein forced an underage girl, whose identify remains sealed, to have sex with former Donald Trump lawyer Alan Dershowitz on numerous occasions. It also states that Epstein trafficked her “for sexual purposes to many other powerful men, including numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, a well-known Prime Minister, and other world leaders.”
Other famous people mentioned in the documents are not necessarily implicated in Epstein’s lurid crimes, but were referenced in the unsealed depositions conducted as part of Giuffre’s civil suit.
One such document alleges that Epstein once told Johanna Sjoberg, one of his accusers, that former President Bill Clinton “likes them young, referring to girls.” In another, Maxwell says that Clinton flew on Epstein’s private plane but couldn’t confirm how many times. Clinton previously denied allegations of visiting Epstein’s properties and having knowledge of his crimes.
Sjoberg also identifies magician David Copperfield as a friend of Epstein’s and said he asked her if she was “aware that girls were getting paid to find other girls.”
She also said she overheard Epstein on the phone saying he needed to “find some girls” in Hawaii for celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai.
US District Judge Loretta Preska ordered the identifying documents to be made public last month, allowing a 14-day grace period for anyone named in them to appeal their inclusion.
Two people who requested to keep their names sealed, known only as Doe 107 and Doe 110, would not be immediately named, Preska said in a court order on Wednesday.
Doe 107 was granted an extension of time, until January 22, to make a case that revealing her name would cause her physical harm. Doe 110’s plea remained under review by the court, Preska said.
“The Court will render its determination on the documents relating to Does 107 and 110 in due course,” Preska said.
The judge had previously said that names would be redacted if it was determined that their release would “disclose sensitive information regarding an alleged minor victim of sexual abuse who has not spoken publicly and who has maintained his or her privacy.”
Giuffre ― formerly known as Virginia Roberts ― met Maxwell when she was working at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in 2000.
In a 2020 interview with CBS News, Giuffre said “very well-known” people could be incriminated should Maxwell cooperate with prosecutors, including Britain’s Prince Andrew, whom Giuffre has accused of rape.
Prince Andrew settled a sexual abuse lawsuit brought by Giuffre last year but has denied the allegations.
Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for similar crimes.