Court documents released as part of the case against Ghislaine Maxwell, the girlfriend of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, have revealed connections to high-profile figures, including the UK’s Prince Andrew, former US President Bill Clinton, and singer Michael Jackson. However, no new allegations about Epstein or his associates have been unveiled so far. Prince Andrew is accused of groping a woman, which he denies, while Clinton’s name appears in a number of documents. Clinton has acknowledged being a former associate of Epstein but has denied having any knowledge of his crimes.
The documents were released after an order by New York Judge Loretta Preska, who acknowledged that many of those named had already been identified by the media or in Maxwell’s criminal trial. However, she ordered that some names remain redacted because they would identify victims of sexual abuse. Some of more than 100 people on the list make allegations about other individuals or are potential witnesses, and more documents are expected to be released in the coming days.
Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2009 and took his own life in 2019 while awaiting trial over sex-trafficking charges. The newly-released files include references to Johanna Sjoberg, who has claimed that Prince Andrew groped her breast while sitting on a couch inside Epstein’s Manhattan apartment in 2001. Buckingham Palace has previously said that her allegations are “categorically untrue.”
Former US President Clinton is also named in the court documents, although there is no implication of any illegality. The records include testimony from Maxwell confirming that Clinton had travelled on board Epstein’s private jet, but she did not know how many times. The court documents also include a section where Maxwell’s lawyer seeks to debunk a media report that shortly after he left office in January 2001, Clinton travelled to Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean.
Epstein’s death in 2019 was ruled to be a suicide by the New York medical examiner. Maxwell, the daughter of publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role as a recruiter for Epstein. Her lawyers are appealing against the sentence. Lawyers for Maxwell said in a statement cited by CNN on Wednesday: “She has consistently and vehemently maintained her innocence.
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