The latest release in the ongoing lawsuit connected to the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted pedophile, exposes a myriad of disturbing connections. Virginia Roberts Giuffre's 2015 defamation suit against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend, triggered the unsealing of over thirteen hundred pages of documents last Friday. These papers are expected to implicate nearly 200 individuals, including Epstein's accusers, high-profile figures, and politicians.
The revelations stem from a court order responding to media requests to make the documents public. Among the disclosed testimonies, Juan Alessi, a former Epstein employee, detailed encounters with influential figures, including two former U.S. presidents. Alessi claimed to have had dinner with Donald Trump in Epstein's Palm Beach home kitchen and met Bill Clinton on Epstein's plane. He also mentioned encounters with Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, as well as interactions with foreign beauty queens and a Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry.
Allegations against Trump and Clinton have not resulted in any accusations of criminal activity. Trump's spokesperson responded by criticizing the media, while Clinton's spokesman reiterated that Clinton was unaware of Epstein's crimes. Alessi also provided insights into the young women who visited Epstein's home for massages, revealing they were paid $100 per hour.
The documents implicated renowned magician David Copperfield as a friend to Epstein. Depositions from Sarah Kellen, an Epstein employee, and Johanna Sjoberg, a woman who massaged Epstein, hinted at Copperfield's association with Epstein. Kellen refused to answer questions about whether Copperfield recruited girls for Epstein. Sjoberg recalled Copperfield performing magic tricks at Epstein's Palm Beach residence and questioning her about Epstein's methods for procuring girls.
Harvey Weinstein's name appeared in a 2005 note left for Epstein, indicating Weinstein attempted to contact him. While Weinstein's involvement in Epstein's world is discussed in a book by Giuffre's lawyer, there is no implication of wrongdoing by Weinstein in the released documents.
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| An unsealed legal document in a civil case related to Jeffrey Epstein shows a handwritten phone message saying Harvey Weinstein called. A close-up of that message is seen here. |
The disturbing content of some documents includes an excerpt from Nadia Marcinkova's deposition, where she invoked the Fifth Amendment when asked about Epstein's birthday and allegations of him sexually abusing three 12-year-olds sent by a friend. Marcinkova refused to disclose if the children were from France or identify the sender.
The unsealed documents also shed light on Epstein's associates, accusers, and disturbing events, such as 12-year-olds being sent to him. The lawsuit, initiated by Giuffre and Maxwell in 2015, was settled in 2017, but certain documents remained sealed until now. Epstein's indictment in 2019 for operating a sex trafficking ring ended with his suicide in jail. Maxwell faced charges in 2021 and was convicted for her involvement in sex trafficking.