Jeffrey Epstein documents: Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew among names listed

NME

Multiple court documents identifying associates of billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were made public last night (January 3) – including high-profile names such as Michael Jackson, Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton.

The documents were previously contained in the private court documents, created after Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre filed a lawsuit against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, accusing her of being involved in the alleged sex trafficking activities.

Prior to the names coming to light, those included in the papers were previously referred to as variants of J Doe.

Epstein was arrested in July 2019 for sex trafficking. He was found dead in his jail cell in August of that year, with authorities later determining that he hanged himself.

Maxwell, Epstein’s partner, was convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021, as well as other similar charges for procuring teenage girls for Epstein. She was sentenced in June 2022 to 20 years imprisonment, and has maintained her innocence throughout.

Now, following the names of Epstein’s associates being made public, it has been revealed that one of the J Does was allegedly royal family member Prince Andrew.

In a deposition, Maxwell appeared to say that Prince Andrew visited Epstein’s Island in the US Virgin Islands – the location in which Epstein is accused of abusing multiple girls. When asked if she was present on the island when Prince Andrew visited, Maxwell said she was once, but claimed “there were no girls on the island at all” other than members of staff.

Another document included a deposition given by Johanna Sjoberg, whom Maxwell allegedly procured for the purpose of performing sex acts on Epstein. In the deposition, Sjoberg recalls meeting Prince Andrew at Epstein’s New York home and engaging in a sexual encounter. Prince Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Others listed included former US President Bill Clinton – who was referred to as “Doe 36” in the court documents and mentioned 50 times.

According to the records, Sjoberg testified that Epstein once told her that Bill Clinton “likes them young,” referring to girls. In the lawsuit raised against Maxwell, Giuffre did not make allegations of wrongdoing against Clinton, however, claimed to have seen Clinton with two young women on Epstein’s island, which he denies ever visiting.

In 2019, Clinton’s spokesperson Angel Ureña denied claims made about Clinton’s involvement with Epstein and wrote that “President Clinton knows nothing about the terrible crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York.” Despite the denial, flight records have shown that the former US President used Epstein’s plane for international trips.

Other names mentioned in the documents include late musician Michael Jackson and famed magician David Copperfield.

Sjoberg claims to have met Jackson at Epstein’s mansion in Palm Beach, and also claimed that Copperfield attended a dinner at one of the billionaire’s homes and “did some magic tricks”.

“Did Copperfield ever discuss Jeffrey’s involvement with young girls with you?” she was asked, to which she responded: “He questioned me if I was aware that girls were getting paid to find other girls.”

Late English theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking was also named in the newly public documents.

According to a report by NDTV, shortly after Giuffre filed a civil claim in the U.S. back in 2015, an email from Epstein to Maxwell revealed that he had asked her to “issue a reward” to any of Giuffre’s friends as a means to counter her claims of Professor Stephen Hawking participating in an underage orgy.

Giuffre settled her lawsuit against Maxwell in 2017, and in 2021 sued Prince Andrew over the alleged sexual abuse. Prince Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing and the suit settled in early 2022. As part of the settlement, he agreed to donate to Giuffre’s victims’ rights charity.

When asked to comment on the documents’ unsealing, Maxwell’s attorneys, Arthur L Aidala and Diana Fabi Samson, said (via The Guardian): “Ghislaine Maxwell took no position on the court’s recent decision to unseal documents in Giuffre v Maxwell as these disclosures have no bearing on her or her pending appeal.”

“Ghislaine’s focus is on the upcoming appellate argument asking for her entire case to be dismissed,” they added.

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