A New York judge began on Wednesday evening, January 3, 2024, to reveal the names of contacts, acquaintances, victims, relatives or alleged accomplices linked to the American financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of sex crimes and who was previously in prison in 2019 attempted suicide.
In around forty published documents and around 1,000 pages, the names of former American presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump are quoted, but also those of the British Prince Andrew and those of other personalities such as Michael Jackson or David Copperfield.
The presence of these names on the list does not mean that the individuals named are accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Jeffrey Epstein. Some were simply quoted in court proceedings.
40 court documents released
As Agence France Presse announced, these revelations by the federal judiciary in Manhattan began with the publication of 40 legal documents totaling around a thousand pages, which were made available to the British media The Guardian for inspection.
The disclosure of this list of names related to Jeffrey Epstein was required by a December 18 order from Judge Loretta Preska.
A legal act that is part of the libel case between Jeffrey Epstein's ex-lover and accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022, and an American plaintiff against the couple, Virginia Giuffre.
The judge had listed between 180 and 200 people under numbers and the pseudonym “Doe” and ordered that their identities be clarified ” complete “ made public ” 14 days ” at the latest after December 18th and 19th, i.e. January 2nd or 3rd.
According to the British media Daily News, which revealed the existence of this list, Virginia Giuffre's libel lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell dates back to 2016 and was settled the following year. But the Miami Herald newspaper then took civil action to gain access to the file and investigate the Epstein network.
Clinton, Trump, Michael Jackson and David Copperfield quoted
The publication of the documents confirms the existence of names already mentioned by American media in recent days.
Former President Bill Clinton, whose presence on the network's list was revealed by ABC, is actually quoted several times in the document. He was someone who was close to Jeffrey Epstein.
Former US President Donald Trump, who is mentioned in the documents as an acquaintance of Esptein, was also quoted.
Other prominent names also appear in the documents, such as Michael Jackson and David Copperfield.
Prince Andrew is on the list, as is Jean-Luc Brunel
The British Prince Andrew, friend of the Maxwell-Epstein couple, is also mentioned several times in the published documents. In February 2022, according to the Daily Telegraph, he sealed a $13 million out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre, who in a separate lawsuit accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2001, when she was 17. The disgraced 63-year-old prince denies these allegations.
Another close friend of Epstein, the French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, who was accused of raping minors and was found hanged in a Paris prison in February 2022, is also named several times in the documents.
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