In the latest development related to the lawsuit connected to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a fourth batch of court documents has been unsealed. This comes a week after the release of thousands of pages of files that revealed the involvement of notable figures such as former US President Bill Clinton, Britain's Prince Andrew, theoretical physicist Steven Hawking, and incarcerated movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
The recent release on Monday comprises 17 unsealed files, building on the extensive disclosure that began on January 10, 11, and 12, with the final set expected on Tuesday. The documents are part of a 2015 civil defamation suit initiated by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleged sexual abuse by Epstein during her adolescence, with the assistance of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend, who is currently serving a 20-year jail term for her involvement.
The unsealing of these documents follows a December 18, 2023 court order in response to media legal efforts to make them publicly accessible. Among the new revelations are allegations by accuser Sarah Ransome, who claimed to have witnessed sex tapes filmed by Epstein, allegedly featuring Clinton, Prince Andrew, and British billionaire Richard Branson. However, Ransome later expressed a desire to retract these allegations, and a 2019 New Yorker report revealed that she had admitted fabricating the claim, with no evidence of the mentioned tapes emerging.
Ransome, who asserted that she was recruited into Epstein's sex-trafficking ring by Maxwell in 2006, received a settlement in 2018 after suing Epstein and Maxwell for an undisclosed amount. Notable individuals like Clinton, Prince Andrew, Donald Trump, and Branson, who were implicated in previous unsealed files, have consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
The initial files also mentioned other prominent names, including magician David Copperfield, actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Cameron Diaz, Bruce Willis, and Kevin Spacey. Epstein, indicted in 2019 on federal charges of operating a sex trafficking ring, pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008 and died in jail by suicide in 2019 while awaiting federal sex-trafficking charges.
(With Agency Inputs)
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