Epstein Files Unsealed: What have highly-anticipated documents revealed?

The US District Court for the Southern District of New York has unsealed hundreds of documents connected to accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, identifying multiple individuals, some of which include prominent politicians and notable public figures.

The court began uploading the filings to public records systems late Wednesday, although heavy online traffic initially prevented access to the release.

Last month, a federal judge ordered the release of nearly 200 names tied to the Epstein case, although two people requested their names remain sealed for the time being, due to the possibility of physical harm. The names include accusers and witnesses in the case.

Epstein, a convicted sex criminal, died in 2019 while awaiting trial on new sex trafficking charges. The disgraced figure’s ties to a number of celebrities and politicians from his work in the financial sector has fueled continued speculation about potential new ties to his alleged criminal activity.

The latest filings include excerpts of depositions with former British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and Virgina Giuffre, who previously accused Maxwell of facilitating her sexual abuse after being introduced to Epstein, among other witnesses. Maxwell was sentenced in 2022 to serve 20 years in prison on a variety of charges, including sex trafficking for her involvement with Epstein’s criminal doing.

The unsealed documents do not specifically include a list of Epstein clients. It also does not directly equate named individuals with committing crimes. Additional names are expected to be released on Thursday.

Bill Clinton & Donald Trump

The court filings revealed that a witness had claimed that Epstein once indicated that former US President Bill Clinton, who was named over 50 times in the legal documents, favors “young” girls.

The witness was identified as Johanna Sjoberg, who was allegedly recruited by Maxwell and went on to corroborate allegations made by Giuffre regarding the sexual abuse she experienced under Epstein and his associates. Sjoberg’s deposition was held in May 2016.
“Did Jeffrey [Epstein] ever talk to you about Bill Clinton?” Sjoberg was asked during testimony. “He said one time that Clinton likes them young, referring to girls,” she replied.

In another section of the documents, Sjoberg noted it was known Clinton “had dealings” with Epstein, but that he hadn’t been spotted at Epstein’s infamous island in the US Virgin Islands, where it’s alleged many underage girls were abused. Testimony from Maxwell relayed that she unaware as to how many times Clinton had flown on Epstein’s plane.

Clinton has previously said he was entirely unaware of Epstein’s “terrible crimes.”

It was also detailed that former US President Donald Trump was never seen at Epstein’s home or private island. In separate questioning, Sjoberg said she had never given any sexual favors or massages to the former president.

However, she did note in her deposition that Epstein appeared to brag about his ties to the former commander-in-chief, suggesting he could call Trump and “go to the casino” that the pair had once visited.

Not long after walls closed in around Epstein’s operations and charges were filed in the matter, Trump relayed to the public that he was never a “fan” of Epstein and that he hadn’t spoken to him for years.

Celebrities & Notable Figures

Among the dozens of named figures were musician Michael Jackson, who was spotted at Epstein’s Palm Beach home, and magician David Copperfield who partook in one of the financier’s parties.

While it was pointed out that Jackson hadn’t appeared to entertain any illegal behavior, Sjoberg did testify that Copperfield appeared to inquire about Epstein’s operation during a party. In fact, Sjoberg recalled that the magician had “questioned me if I was aware that girls were getting paid to find other girls.”

Asked whether Copperfield had specifically mentioned “teenagers” or allude to any “specifics” of Epstein’s criminal activity, Sjoberg said he had not.

In response to a follow-up question, the witness detailed that Frederic Fekkai, known as a hairstylist for celebrities, had been named-checked by Epstein. “I heard him [Epstein] call someone, and say, Fekkai is in Hawaii. Can we find some girls for him?,” she recalled.

When questioned about her own reaction to the mention of Fekkai at the time, Sjoberg responded: “Well, I was massaging and I didn’t have a reaction. I tried to remain reactionless the whole five years.”

Elsewhere in the deposition documents, actors including Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kevin Spacey, Cameron Diaz and Naomi Campbell were mentioned in passing during questioning on notable persons that may have come in contact with Epstein’s operations.

However, the witness in each instance said they never met any of the characters. “I would hope I would remember,” was one response when asked about Blanchett or DiCaprio.

In another portion of the deposition, notable scientific figure Stephen Hawking was identified in an email by Epstein, where he appeared to call on Maxwell to buy-off any associate’s of Giuffre to disprove her claims – one that he alleged suggested Hawking played a role in an “underage orgy.”

While the new release does offer some new details of Epstein’s operations, it also rehashes previously known ties between the New Yorker and his associates, such as Prince Andrew and lawyer Alan Dershowitz.

Prince Andrew, who previously settled a lawsuit with Giuffre in 2022 but has refused to admit any wrongdoing, was described in one appearance where the UK royal placed his hand on a witness’ breast during a photo with Giuffre and Maxwell.

As for Dershowitz, who has been linked to Epstein for years and appeared to earlier welcome the release, testimony showed he had been name-checked by a Jane Doe and alleged to have had sexual relations with the individual when she was a minor. Giuffre had filed a lawsuit against Dershowitz but withdrew it in 2022 after admitting to a case of mistaken identity.

Another previously named-dropped figure is Jean Luc Brunel, a former modeling agent with long ties to Epstein and who was found dead inside a jail cell in 2022 while awaiting sex trafficking charges.