Tag: Ghislaine Maxwell

  • US judge begins to unseal Epstein contacts

    US judge begins to unseal Epstein contacts

    A New York judge on Wednesday began to unseal the identities of people linked in court documents to Jeffrey Epstein, the US financier who killed himself in 2019 as he awaited trial for sex crimes.

    Notably included in the unsealed documents, which include almost 1,000 pages of depositions and statements, were former US presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, who have not been accused of any wrongdoing in the case.

    The list of around 150 people includes a host of Epstein associates previously identified as John or Jane Does in a lawsuit brought against Epstein’s former mistress, Ghislaine Maxwell. It carries no allegation of complicity in Epstein’s crimes.

    The disclosure is part of a defamation proceeding between Maxwell, sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison, and a plaintiff against the duo, Virginia Giuffre.

    Last month a judge listed in a 50-page document some 180 cases — under pseudonyms — ordering that their identities be made public within 14 days of the order.

    Some individuals have objected to the disclosure of their identities in the case.

    Lawyers for one individual, “Doe 107”, wrote to the judge in the case arguing they could face victimization in their home country, and requested time to submit grounds for their name to remain sealed.

    Accomplices in sex crimes

    According to British media, Giuffre’s defamation claim against Maxwell, 62, dates back to 2016 and was settled the following year. But the Miami Herald then took legal action to access the file and investigate the Epstein network.

    A number of documents in the case were made public in 2019, days before Epstein hanged himself in prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

    Maxwell and Epstein were a couple in the early 1990s before becoming professional collaborators and accomplices in sex crimes for almost three decades.

    Epstein, a financier with a powerful network in the United States and abroad, was himself accused of raping young girls, but his suicide by hanging in a New York prison in August 2019 halted his prosecution.

    Fabricated lists and doctored photos of Epstein have circulated in conspiratorial internet circles for years, fueling speculation about the financier’s potential associates.

    The anticipated release of names from court documents reignited that frenzy.

    Comedian Jimmy Kimmel threatened Aaron Rodgers with legal action after the American football star suggested the late night host could be on the list.

    It was a baseless allegation echoed across platforms such as X, where numerous posts also drew actor Tom Hanks into the fold.

  • Controversy stirred over picture of PM with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s frontwoman

    Controversy stirred over picture of PM with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s frontwoman

    In what appears to be an attempt to malign Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, a decades-old picture of him with American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s frontwoman Ghislaine Maxwell, has resurfaced over the internet.

    Maxwell, a British socialite, worked for her father, publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, until his death in 1991 when she moved to the United States (US) and became a close associate of Epstein.

    While the picture doing the rounds on social media seems to be from some social event that then cricketer and British film producer Jemima Goldsmith’s husband, Imran, was usually spotted at, netizens are sharing the same seeking the context.

    During his cricketing career, the now premier acquainted several international celebrities. He also counted no less than Princess Diana as a friend.

    According to the details unearthed by The Current, his picture with Maxwell is from a party at Savoy — a luxury hotel in London — to mark the fall of communism in 1990, which was a year before she even moved to the US.

    Greek journalist Taki Theodoracopulos can also be seen in the background.

    WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MAXWELL & EPSTEIN:

    Maxwell is the alleged recruiter of Epstein’s sex ring of underage girls and awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. She reportedly met the late financier through her father Robert and he might have been one early source of Epstein’s wealth that catapulted him into the upper echelon of society.

    Epstein began his professional life as a teacher but then switched to the banking and finance sector, working at Bear Stearns before forming his own firm. He developed an elite social circle and procured many women, including underage girls, who were then sexually abused by Epstein and some of his contacts.

    He was arrested in July 2019 on federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors and died in his jail cell less than a month later. The medical examiner ruled the death a suicide, however, Epstein’s lawyers disputed the ruling, and there has been significant public skepticism about the true cause of his death.

    Many believe that he was murdered because of his knowledge of compromising information about famous individuals.