In the US, a fresh set of previously sealed court records pertaining to jet-setting financier Jeffrey Epstein—who committed suicide in 2019 while facing prosecution for sex-trafficking—were made public late on Wednesday.
Among the well-known individuals included in the previously undisclosed documents describing the relationships of deceased sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein are Prince Andrew, a member of the British Royal Family, and former US President Bill Clinton.
Magician David Copperfield and singer Michael Jackson are among the other names in the records; however, no misconduct on their part was alleged.
The recently made public recordings are a part of the prosecution against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s girlfriend who was imprisoned for her assistance in his abuse of female victims.
However, nothing significant and no new allegations about Epstein or his colleagues has been revealed in the records up to this point.
The allegations against Prince Andrew, where he was said to have groped a woman, have been refuted by him.
There are several papers in which Mr. Clinton is listed, but while acknowledging that he was formerly an associate of Epstein, the former US president has categorically denied knowing anything about his criminal activities.
Buckingham Palace, in response to the claim by Johanna Sjoberg- who, according to the newly-released files said that Prince Andrew groped her breast while sitting on a couch inside Epstein’s Manhattan apartment in 2001- had formerly said her allegations are “categorically untrue”.
In a deposition that has previously been publicised, Ms. Sjoberg said that Prince Andrew touched her breast in order to pose for a picture with Virginia Giuffre, another complainant, and a puppet with the name “Prince Andrew” on it.
In 2022, Ms. Giuffre filed a lawsuit alleging that she was sexually molested by the British royal, which was settled for millions of dollars.
Prince Andrew, however, refuted Ms. Giuffre’s claims, stating he had never met her.
The court filings also list former US President Clinton, albeit there is no indication of any wrongdoing. His officials pointed to a 2019 statement he made claiming he “knows nothing” about Epstein’s misdeeds when reached for comment.
Records show that Ms. Sjoberg stated in her testimony that Epstein had informed her that Mr. Clinton “likes them young,” with reference to girls.
Maxwell’s testimony—which is included in the files—confirms that Mr. Clinton has taken flights on Epstein’s private plane, but she is unsure of the exact number of times.
In the early 2000s, Mr. Clinton took flights on Epstein’s aircraft on what were said to be humanitarian missions to Africa. At the time, he lauded Epstein as a dedicated philanthropist, but he eventually severed his relationship with him, according to reports.
The former US president stated in 2019 that members of the Clinton Foundation’s staff and supporters travelled with him on Epstein’s plane, with his Secret Service detail also travelling with them throughout the trip.
In one portion of the court filings, Maxwell’s attorney attempted to dispute a report in the media claiming that Mr. Clinton visited Epstein’s Caribbean private island soon after he left office in January 2001.
The lawyer representing Maxwell said the former US president “did not, in fact travel to, nor was he present on Little St James Island between January 1, 2001 and January 1, 2003.”
The attorney went on to say that if the allegations were accurate, Secret Service officers would have had to turn in travel logs.
On Wednesday, New York Judge Loretta Preska issued an order releasing the first files from the much-discussed collection, which spans over 900 pages. Preska recognised that many of the individuals listed in the papers had previously been identified by the media or in Maxwell’s criminal prosecution.
Numerous other people, according to Judge Preska, did not object to the records’ publication. She did, however, mandate that some names be kept hidden because they would identify sexual assault victims.
More records are anticipated to be made public in the next few days, and some of the more than 100 persons on the list have allegations levelled against other people or may be witnesses.
In 2009, Epstein entered a guilty plea to accusations of soliciting prostitution from a minor. He committed suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial over sex trafficking.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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