Documents show Epstein’s influence among the powerful

The latest set of court documents concerning Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse of underage girls illuminates the extent to which the financier utilized his connections to influential figures to recruit victims and evade justice for his crimes. These documents, over 40 in total, were made public on Wednesday evening and contain the names of notable personalities who had associated with Epstein before his crimes were publicly known nearly 20 years ago. Several of these individuals have previously been mentioned in relation to the case, including during the trial of Epstein's former girlfriend and key accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, who has been convicted of sex trafficking and is serving a prison sentence of 20 years.

The documents released provide insights into Epstein's manipulative tactics, using the allure of his high-profile associations to entrap aspiring models and artists into his web of abuse. The enormous collection of over 250 documents being revealed incrementally as of this week largely reiterate already known information about Epstein, who remained part of the elite until his arrest for sex trafficking in July 2019, leading to his suicide in prison. However, some new details of his expansive pyramid scheme of abuse have emerged, illuminating the extent of the harm done to numerous underage girls and young women over a span of three decades.

Among the notable people who were linked with Epstein before his exposure as a sexual predator were former Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, musician Michael Jackson, and magician David Copperfield, according to the accounts from his victims and other witnesses quoted in the documents. However, none of these men have been accused of any misconduct. Stories concerning Britain's Prince Andrew also resurge within these documents, as he was accused by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's victims, of having sexual encounters with her when she was 17. Despite vehemently denying these allegations, the prince settled the lawsuit in 2022.

The revealing of these court documents is related to a 2015 lawsuit filed by Giuffre against Maxwell. Although thousands of pages from this lawsuit have been made publicly accessible in the past, some parts were redacted due to privacy issues. However, last month, U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska called for these sections to be unredacted as the names mentioned were already public knowledge.

Among the documents released Wednesday was Johanna Sjoberg's deposition from May 2016, where she recounted meeting Michael Jackson at Epstein's Florida residence, however, she insisted nothing inappropriate transpired. She also provided an account of an April 2001 encounter with Prince Andrew at Epstein’s Manhattan home, during which she alleges he touched her inappropriately. Expressing their previous associations with Epstein, both Clinton and Trump have repeatedly denied being aware of his crimes.

Sjoberg mentioned attending a dinner hosted by Epstein where David Copperfield was present and performed magic tricks. She alleged Copperfield asked an ambiguous question about girls getting paid for recruitment of other girls, shedding light on Epstein and Maxwell’s alleged pattern of making recruits bring in more victims.

Brunel, a French modeling agent close to Epstein, is also frequently mentioned in the newly released documents. He committed suicide in a Paris jail in 2022 while awaiting trial on accusations of sexually abusing underage girls, with Giuffre among the accusers. This week, a model residing in New York filed a lawsuit against Brunel's estate, claiming she was repeatedly assaulted and on one occasion, taken to a property in Canada where she was detained and abused for several days. The lawsuit filed in a California state court does not mention either Epstein or Maxwell.