Documents in the Epstein case exposed public figures

A number of court documents have been released today that identify individuals associated with notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Guardian reported.

Some of the famous names in the court documents include Prince Andrew, the member of the British Royal Family, former US President Bill Clinton, the King of Pop Michael Jackson and the American illusionist David Copperfield.

The inclusion of a name on this list does not imply that the person in question has been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. Among the names are people mentioned in passing during legal proceedings.

In his testimony, Maxwell clarified that Andrew had visited Epstein's island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Epstein is accused of abusing numerous girls on that island.

"Were you present on the island when Prince Andrew visited it?" Maxwell was asked during the trial.

She answered in the affirmative, and when asked how many times she had been there, replied: "I only remember one time." When asked if there were any girls on the island at the time, Maxwell persisted: "There were no girls on the island at all. No girls, no women, except for the staff who worked in the house."

One of the documents includes testimony given by Joanna Sjoberg, who Maxwell allegedly recruited to perform sexual acts with Epstein.

In his testimony, Sjoberg stated that Epstein "once said that Clinton liked them young, (referring to the girls)."

In 2019, Clinton spokesman Angel Ureña denied allegations made about Clinton's involvement in the relationship with Epstein, writing in a statement on Twitter that "President Clinton knows nothing about the horrific crimes to which Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida a few years ago, nor for those in which they were recently raised to him in New York."

Sjoberg also shared that the late musician Michael Jackson stayed at Epstein's Palm Beach mansion and that she met the famous magician David Copperfield.

"Did you ever meet any famous people when you were with Geoffrey?" she was asked. "I met Michael Jackson at Epstein's house in Palm Beach."

Asked if she massaged Jackson, Sjoberg replied, "I didn't."

As for Copperfield, Sjoberg said he attended a dinner at one of Epstein's homes and "did some magic tricks."

"Did you notice that David Copperfield is a friend of Jeffrey Epstein?" she was asked. Sjoberg responded positively.

"Has Copperfield ever discussed Geoffrey's attachment to young girls with you?" - asked Sjoberg. "He was asking me if I was aware that girls were being paid to find other girls."

Donald Trump, whose relationship with Epstein was reported, was also mentioned in the documents. The former US president has not been accused of wrongdoing. In his testimony, Sjoberg said they went to one of Trump's casinos in Atlantic City after a storm prevented Epstein's plane from landing in New York.

"Jeffrey said, 'Great, we're going to call Trump and we're going to, I don't remember the name of the casino, but, we're going to go to it.'" Asked at one point if she had ever given Trump a massage, Sjoberg said, "no ".

The testimony also included Sjoberg's account of her alleged meeting with Prince Andrew at Epstein's home in New York. "I just remember someone offering a picture and telling us to sit on the couch. And then I was made to sit on Andrew's lap while he groped my breasts."

Virginia Giuffre, who claims Epstein and Maxwell forced her to have sex with Britain's Prince Andrew at the age of 17, sued Maxwell for defamation. In 2017, Giuffre settled his case against Maxwell.

In 2021, Giuffre filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew over the alleged sexual abuse. The lawsuit was settled in early 2022. Andrew has always steadfastly denied any wrongdoing. As part of the settlement, he agreed to make a donation to Giuffre's victims' rights charity. Giuffre made no allegations of wrongdoing against Clinton.

In one of the documents released in July 2020, Giuffre alleged that Maxwell participated in Epstein's sexual assaults on teenage girls. Those documents were released a few weeks after Maxwell's arrest for her involvement in Epstein's sex trafficking.

Giuffre claims that Maxwell lured her into Epstein's perverse orbit under the false pretense of working as a professional massage therapist. "Instead, Maxwell trained me as a sex slave," according to documents included in this set of unsealed court documents.

Documents released in July 2020 also shed light on the relationship between Maxwell and Epstein.

In a January 2015 email exchange, Epstein told Maxwell, "Go out with your head held high, not like a death row inmate. Go to parties. Deal with it."

In August 2019, a large collection of documents related to Giuffre's civil case was also declassified. Those documents included allegations, which were later denied, that world leaders were participants in Epstein's trafficking ring.

Epstein was arrested on July 6, 2019, for human trafficking for sexual exploitation. He was found dead in his cell on August 10 of that year, and authorities determined he had hanged himself.

In June 2022, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison. She maintains her innocence and is appealing her conviction. /BGNES