Hundreds of pages of unsealed records from a case involving suspected sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein were made public on Wednesday. This is the first set of papers to be opened under a court order issued on December 18, with more to follow in the following weeks.
The records, including previously disclosed data, are believed to contain roughly 200 names, including some of Epstein's accusers, famous entrepreneurs, politicians, and maybe more.
The initial batch of documents did not appear to contain any shocking information. Much of the material contained within them has already been made public via media stories and other legal actions. However, this is the first time that these records, which were filed with a court, have been made public through the legal system.
Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers stated in a statement on Wednesday, "She has consistently and vehemently maintained her innocence."
The materials include passages from Maxwell and Virginia Roberts Giuffre's depositions. There is also a deposition from Johanna Sjoberg, who described Prince Andrew jokingly touching her breast while shooting pictures in the document.
Sjoberg's account has already been made public, but this is the first time her deposition has been made public. She worked with Epstein at times, and she claims he pushed her to go beyond her comfort zone when it came to performing sexualized massages.
According to a court document submitted by her attorneys on Tuesday, Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre previously agreed to an out-of-court settlement in her sexual assault complaint against him. Andrew has refuted the accusations leveled against him.
As previously reported, the deposition transcripts include allusions to numerous significant individuals, including Andrew and former US President Bill Clinton.
In her 2016 deposition, Sjoberg stated that Epstein mentioned Bill Clinton to her.
"He said one time that Clinton likes them young, referring to girls," she went on to say.
When questioned if Clinton was an Epstein friend, she stated that Epstein had "dealings" with Clinton.
In 2019, a Clinton spokesperson acknowledged that the former president had traveled aboard Epstein's private jet but claimed Clinton was unaware of the financier's "terrible crimes."
On Wednesday, a Clinton spokesperson maintained the 2019 denial, telling CNN that it had now "been nearly 20 years since President Clinton last had contact with Epstein." Clinton has not been charged with any crimes or misconduct in connection with Epstein.
In her evidence, Johanna Sjoberg also mentioned being aboard one of Epstein's flights when the pilots notified them they needed to land in Atlantic City. Epstein then advised them to get in touch with Donald Trump.
"Jeffrey said, Great, we'll call up Trump, and we'll go to—I don't recall the name of the casino, but—we'll go to the casino," Sjoberg told reporters.
Sjoberg then stated in her statement that she never gave Trump a massage. In the materials, Trump is not accused of any misconduct in relation to Epstein.
CNN has contacted the Trump campaign for comment.
In her deposition, Giuffre said that Maxwell ordered her to have sexual relations with people such as former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, Prince Andrew, computer pioneer Marvin Minsky, well-known French modeling scout Jean-Luc Brunel, and American financier Glenn Dubin.
When Giuffre's claims were first made public in 2019, a Dubin spokesperson stated, "Glenn and Eva Dubin are appalled by the allegations against them in the unsealed court records and unequivocally refute them." The comment was highly publicized at the time, with articles appearing in the Washington Post, the Hill, and Vanity Fair.
Three nameless persons remain in the same section of the deposition that was not disclosed on Wednesday. Giuffre claims Maxwell commanded her to have sexual encounters with an "unnamed prince," the "owner of a large hotel chain," and a name that has been erased.
The letter does not state if Giuffre later had sexual relations with any of the people mentioned.
Other documents that have been disclosed include legal motions made by the attorneys.
The materials are from a settled case brought by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, an American woman who claimed Epstein sexually molested her as a teenager and that Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, assisted in the abuse.
Many of the alleged victims and associates have previously given public interviews and been named in the media. Inclusion in the newly unredacted records does not imply misconduct or a violation of the law.
According to court records, some victims' identities have been withheld owing to the sensitive nature of the offenses.
Epstein was arrested in 2019 on federal allegations of running a sex trafficking organization and sexually abusing hundreds of minor girls.
Epstein committed suicide in prison while awaiting trial. Prosecutors in New York indicted Maxwell on numerous counts of sex trafficking. She was found guilty in 2021.