It’s been over four years since financier and convicted child sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein was found hanging by his neck in a jail cell, and just about two years since his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking, and still not all of the court documents in the various cases have been released.
Shortly after the first of the year, however, at least some information that’s been sealed by the court will be released, according to a new ruling from a federal judge.
The names of roughly 150 of what the Miami Herald calls the “recruiters, associates and ‘affiliates’” of Epstein and Maxwell will be released, ending a five-year legal battle to get the names.
Don’t, however, expect to hear many starting revelations. Most of the names are already out in the public, the Herald reported.
“Most of the names set to be revealed are people associated with Epstein who are already publicly known, and it’s unclear whether the documents contain any new details about Epstein’s associations,” the outlet said Wednesday.
Senior U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska issued the order releasing the names on Monday, but delayed the actual release for two weeks to allow individuals on the list to appeal the release of their names.
So far, several people’s names have been designated to be withheld. Two of those are what the judge called “classic outsiders” with no real relevance to the case, while the third had earlier been misidentified in a photograph by a reporter.
Another told the court that she could be in danger in “her home country” if her name were to come out; the Herald reportedly push its efforts further to obtain her name.
The Herald has been seeking the release of all the names, and its lawyer, Christine Walz, said there was no real reason not to release the other three names.
Should the other 3 names be unsealed from the documents?
“We are pleased that the court has decided to unseal information about more than 150 individuals,” Walz said. “Epstein and Maxwell’s abuses were shielded for far too long.
“The court concluded that three individuals who were ‘peripheral’ to the matter would remain sealed. We are evaluating that decision and continue to believe that all of the court files should be released,” she added, perhaps suggesting the possibility of an appeal to get the remaining three names.
According to the outlet, 13 people “fought unsuccessfully” to keep from being revealed on the list, but apparently no one else did, which implies that most of them are already known to be associates of Epstein, Maxwell or both.
The lawsuit has been ongoing since 2018, and Judge Preska has released “thousands” of pages during that time, but with many redactions. The paper expects this next release to have “limited redactions — and thus possibly [to] fill in some of the lingering questions about who helped Epstein.”
“Among those who tried unsuccessfully to keep their names redacted is Leslie Wexner, the former CEO of the Limited and Victoria’s Secret,” the Herald reported.
“Other Does expected to be unsealed include Prince Andrew, financier Glenn Dubin, modeling agent Jean Luc Brunel, who committed suicide in a French prison; and people who worked as butlers, housekeepers or recruiters for Epstein,” it added.
With so many names already in the public sphere, it’s hard to guess what other revelations, if any, might be yet to come.
But given that Epstein “abused more than 100 young women and girls from 2002 to 2018,” many of whom were Palm Beach high school students, it’s possible that we may learn more than we wanted to know.
