Epstein case sheds light on dark secrets of influential figures

By Irmak Akcan

The crimes of the late American multi-millionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and those connected to him have come to light with the recent disclosure of court files.

A second set of court documents related to the disgraced financier’s sexual abuse were made public on Thursday.

Nineteen unsealed documents totaling more than 300 pages are part of a civil defamation suit filed by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that Epstein sexually abused her as a minor.

She also accused Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend, of playing a role in facilitating the abuse.

Unsealed on Wednesday, the first set of court documents in Epstein's case, involving allegations of sex trafficking of minors and pedophilia, contained the names of famous and powerful figures including former US President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew.

Thursday's release of documents by a Manhattan federal court included a deposition from Palm Beach Detective Joseph Recarey which described the process through which Epstein and Maxwell found and recruited girls “to perform massages and work at Epstein’s home.”

Recarey had reportedly spoken to 30-33 girls recruited by Maxwell.

Separately, Giuffre also claimed in an email that former President Clinton threatened Vanity Fair magazine not to publish “sex-trafficking” articles related to Epstein.

In the documents released on Wednesday, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, former US Vice President Al Gore, actor Kevin Spacey, the late pop Michael Jackson, magician David Copperfield and former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson were also mentioned.

American lawyer and law professor Alan Dershowitz, who is slated to defend Israel against genocide accusations at the International Court of Justice, is also included in the files of the Epstein case.

- Epstein Case​​​​​​​

Epstein committed suicide in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

He was being held in a federal lock-up while facing one count of sex trafficking minors, which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, and another count of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors, which carries a maximum sentence of five years.

Epstein allegedly committed the crimes at his Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida properties, where he abused dozens of underage girls, some as young as 14, and conspired to commit sex trafficking, according to prosecutors.

Maxwell was found guilty in a trial where she was accused of aiding Epstein's illegal activities, luring underage girls into prostitution for some wealthy individuals, celebrities and government officials.

- Unsealed court documents

The court files that were decided to be disclosed as part of Maxwell's 2015 case were made public following the decision of US District Judge Loretta Preska.

While Giuffre's case against Maxwell concluded in 2017, the first 2,000 pages of the court files were unsealed in 2019, with additional releases in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The files disclosed in 2023, pursuant to Preska's decision, had been previously withheld due to the privacy rights of both the victims and the accused.

Giuffre filed a lawsuit in New York in 2021 alleging that Prince Andrew sexually abused her when she was 17 in New York and London. She claimed that the prince, knowing she was underage, sexually harassed her.

The files also reveal Johanna Sjoberg's testimony, in which she claims she was groped by Prince Andrew at Epstein's Manhattan apartment in 2001. Prince Andrew denies the allegation.

While Judge Preska decided to keep the names of sexual harassment victims confidential for security reasons, the inclusion of Clinton in the files did not lead to any charges against the former president.

According to the documents, Sjoberg claimed that Epstein told her one time that “Clinton likes them young, referring to girls.”

Sjoberg also mentioned meeting celebrities like Michael Jackson and David Copperfield through Epstein.

The files also include a claim that Epstein's victim Virginia Giuffre was forced into a relationship with former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

Alfredo Rodriguez, a household employee who was tasked with security for Epstein, had to carry cash with him “at all times to give to high school girls, and the girls who were helping recruit for Epstein," the documents said.

Representatives for Clinton argued that the former president did not know about Epstein's crimes.

Maxwell's lawyers claimed that if Clinton had visited Epstein's island, the US intelligence service should have documented it, and since there is no such evidence, they argued that the former president did not visit the island.

- Allegation that Epstein was Mossad agent

Among the allegations is the claim that Epstein worked for the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.

Speaking to RT International in 2020, former Israeli intelligence officer Ari Ben-Menashe claimed that Maxwell's father, Robert Maxwell, and Epstein were Israeli agents.

He asserted that all these scandals were orchestrated by the Mossad for intelligence gathering and blackmailing prominent figures.

Ben-Menashe also alleged that Prince Andrew was deceived and used to bring famous personalities to Epstein, and he further claimed that former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak was aware of the events.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz