By Namita Singh, Rachel Sharp and Mike Bediga.
Forty court documents containing information on associates of late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – including former US presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton – have now been made public.
The court filings are contained in a defamation lawsuit brought against Ghislaine Maxwell by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre in 2015 after she branded her a liar over her claims that she was sexually abused as a minor.
Maxwell was jailed for 20 years in 2022 for sex crimes she committed with Epstein, who socialised with bankers, royalty and celebrities before pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008. He died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The suit was settled in 2017 but the names have remained under lock and key – until now.
In December, US judge Loretta Preska ordered that the documents must finally be unsealed and the people known only as “John and Jane Does” named.
Judge Preska found that there is no legal justification to keep the names in the documents redacted, paving the way for several famous figures to find themselves tied to the notorious disgraced financier.
In total, more than 150 associates of the disgraced paedophile are expected to be unmasked as the trove of documents are released over the coming days.
The newly released documents name Trump and Clinton on multiple occasions but at no point accuse either of any wrongdoing. Prince Andrew is also named multiple times.
Prince Andrew was stripped of most of his royal titles due to his association with Epstein and settled a civil lawsuit with Giuffre last year for an undisclosed sum.
Maxwell, the daughter of British media tycoon Robert Maxwell, is appealing her conviction.
Giuffre accused Maxwell of recruiting her when she was underage for Epstein to abuse.
Preska, who is overseeing the case, ruled that some names would remain confidential, including those of people who were children when Epstein abused them.