Jeffrey Epstein court documents expected to be published tonight – here’s what you need to know
Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew are set to be two of around 200 people named as associates of Jeffrey Epstein in court papers to be unsealed by a US court.
In December, New York district judge Loretta Preska made a ruling that they should no longer remain secret – and has now said her court will begin to publish names today.
Although the former US president and the Duke of York have already been linked to Epstein, the tranche of hundreds of files could reveal new details.
The documents mainly consist of previously unseen legal arguments from the defamation case Virginia Guiffre, Epstein’s main accuser, made against his former lover Ghislaine Maxwell in 2015.
Files were sealed or heavily redacted to protect the identities of “alleged victims, people not accused of wrongdoing…and absent third parties” that could have been implicated in the case.
Here we look at what you need to know.
Which case is it?
The documents were all part of a 2015 civil lawsuit lodged by Virginia Guiffre, who says she was one of Epstein’s principal victims of underage sex trafficking.
She sued Ghislaine Maxwell, 62, for defamation after her spokesperson issued a statement describing Ms Guiffre’s allegations against her and Epstein as “obvious lies”.
At the time Maxwell tried to have the case thrown out but district court judge Robert Sweet rejected her motion to dismiss it.
He ruled Ms Guiffre was the victim of “sustained underage sexual abuse between 1999 and 2002”.
Virginia Guiffre outside court
The ruling paved the way for Ms Guiffre, now 40 and living in Australia, to pursue various other lawsuits, including the one against Prince Andrew for “sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress”, which was settled for a rumoured $12m (£9.45m) in February 2022. The duke has always denied her claims.
It also helped facilitate the criminal case against Maxwell, who was found guilty of five out of six charges of grooming four girls for Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 2004. She was sentenced to 20 years in a US prison in December 2021 and has since launched an appeal.
Jeffrey Epstein’s mugshot. Pic: AP
What are the documents about?
Documents relating to the case were subjected to court orders sealing or redacting them to protect the privacy of some of the people named.
They are likely to be either people accused of wrongdoing – or not, including those who worked for Epstein, flew on his planes, or visited his homes, as well as alleged victims and witnesses.
The Miami Herald first intervened to get them unsealed on public interest grounds in 2018 – and this is the eighth set to be released.
The day after the first round was published in 2019, Epstein was found dead, aged 66, in his Manhattan prison cell where he was awaiting trial for child sex trafficking offences.
In December, judge Preska published her findings that there was no legal justification for keeping the names redacted.
She gave each of the people listed the chance to individually appeal her decision – with a deadline of midnight on 1 January.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein in a photo released during her court case
How is Bill Clinton involved?
The file contains names of around 170 people, judge Preska’s December ruling states.
They were previously referred to as “John and Jane Does” depending on their gender to conceal their identities.
ABC News has reported that President Bill Clinton is “Doe 36”, mentioned in more than 50 of the documents.
There is no indication of any wrongdoing by Mr Clinton.
Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein and Bill Clinton in 1993. Pic: Mega
He was photographed with Epstein and admitted being associated with him in a philanthropic capacity, but his representatives have said he cut off all contact with him in 2005 – before he faced criminal allegations.
Ms Guiffre’s 2015 lawsuit is reported to include a claim that she met the former president on Epstein’s private Caribbean island Little St James.
Epstein’s properties on Little St James in July 2019
Epstein in front of one of his private jets
Read more:
Intimate pictures of Epstein and Maxwell revealed
Prison negligence to blame for Epstein’s death – report
Flight logs kept by one of Epstein’s private pilots have confirmed Mr Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane several times between 2002 and 2003 – as part of humanitarian projects in Africa – as well as to Paris, Bangkok and Brunei.
He previously said in media reports Epstein was a “highly successful financier and committed philanthropist” and that he “appreciated his insights and generosity during… a trip to Africa to work on democratisation, empowering the poor, citizen service and combating HIV/AIDS”.
In 2019, Clinton’s spokesperson said he had “never been to Little St James Island, Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico or his residence in Florida”.
But Ms Guiffre’s claim could formally contradict that statement.
Mr Clinton’s legal team has not lodged an appeal against his naming in the case.
Prince Andrew in Norfolk on Christmas Day 2023
What about Prince Andrew?
According to reports by ABC News, the redacted files will also include 40 documents of evidence from “Jane Doe 162”.
The news channel reports that she is Johanna Sjoberg, who has claimed Prince Andrew touched her breast on a sofa at Epstein’s Manhattan apartment in 2001.
Johanna Sjoberg. Pic: ANL/Shutterstock
She has said in court that when she was 17 she visited Epstein’s New York mansion while he, Maxwell and the Duke of York were there.
The duke denies this and Buckingham Palace has described the claims as “categorically untrue”.
Part of the reason judge Preska has ruled in favour of publishing names like hers is because she has already given interviews to media – including The Times.
US
‘We will treat them EXACTLY how we treated al Qaeda’ – US carries out another lethal strike in Caribbean
The US military has carried out a fresh strike on what it claims are drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea – as tensions with Venezuela remain high.
Secretary for War Pete Hegseth announced the strike on Saturday, claiming the vessel was operated by a US-designated terrorist organisation, but did not name which group was targeted.
He said three people were killed.
“This vessel – like EVERY OTHER – was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” he said.
It’s at least the 15th strike by the US in the Caribbean or eastern Pacific since early September – operations that Venezuela has said amount to murder and whose legal justification is unclear.
At least 64 people have now been killed in the strikes.
The rhetoric coming out of the White House, coupled with the presence of American military ships in the region, has raised questions about a possible armed conflict between the US and Venezuela.
American politicians have repeatedly demanded more information from the Trump administration about the legal basis for the strikes, as well as more details about the cartels they have allegedly targeted.
“These narco-terrorists are bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans at home – and they will not succeed,” Mr Hegseth said on Saturday.
“The Department will treat them EXACTLY how we treated Al-Qaeda. We will continue to track them, map them, hunt them, and kill them.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Venezuela claims Trump creating ‘fables’ to justify ‘war’
Read more:
Is Trump preparing to go to war with Venezuela?
Satellite images show US military edging closer to Venezuela
President Donald Trump has accused Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro of leading an organised crime gang – without providing evidence – and declined to answer when questioned if the CIA has the authority to assassinate him.
In return, the Venezuelan leader has accused Mr Trump of seeking regime change and of “fabricating a new eternal war” against his country, as he appealed to the American people for peace.
A number of US navy vessels are in the region and the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier – the largest warship in the world – is also moving closer to Venezuela as speculation persists about possible further military action.
US
Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney apologises to Donald Trump over anti-tariff advert featuring Ronald Reagan
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has apologised to Donald Trump over an anti-tariff advert featuring a clip of Ronald Reagan.
Speaking at the Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea, he also said he had reviewed the commercial and told Ontario Premier Doug Ford not to air it.
“I did apologise to the president,” Mr Carney said on Saturday, confirming earlier comments made by the US president on Friday.
“I told [Doug] Ford I did not want to go forward with the ad,” he added.
The private conversation with Mr Trump happened at a dinner hosted by South Korea’s president on Wednesday.
The commercial, commissioned by Mr Ford, included a quote from Republican former president Ronald Reagan saying that tariffs cause trade wars and economic disaster.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
TV advert deepens trade rift between Trump and Canada
Mr Trump said the advert was misleading and, in response, announced that he was increasing tariffs on goods from Canada and halting trade talks with Canada.
In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: “Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now.”
It prompted the Ontario premier to pull the ad.
On Friday, the US president expressed his irritation at the advert but also told reporters he had accepted Mr Carney’s apology.
“I like him [Carney] a lot but what they did was wrong,” he said.
“He apologised for what they did with the commercial because it was a false commercial.”
But, critically, he added that the US and Canada will not restart trade talks.
Mr Ford has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s tariffs and trade policies, which are hurting Ontario’s carmakers and steel industry.
Read more from Sky News:
Trump says China tariffs will be cut
How tariffs would hit UK film sector
Is Trump heading for a third term?
The ad by the Ontario government has a voiceover of Ronald Reagan criticising tariffs on foreign goods while saying they cause job losses and trade wars.
The video uses five complete sentences from a five-minute weekly address recorded in 1987, but edited together out of order.
The ad does not mention that the former US president was explaining that tariffs imposed on Japan by his administration should be seen as a sadly unavoidable exception to his basic belief in free trade as the key to prosperity.
Meanwhile, Mr Carney said his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday were a turning point in relations after years of tensions.
He also met Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on the sidelines of the summit.
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024