Until August 2019, Jeffrey Epstein‘s name was more of a reference to a powerful millionaire than a criminal at the head of a network of sexual exploitation of minors. His suicide, after being arrested and accused of pedophilia, opened Pandora’s box for the rich and famous around the world. Its mysterious origin and rise became the subject of articles and documentaries, but it was the tip of the iceberg. Of the two most influential people in his circle, only Ghislaine Maxwell paid the price. She was missing until 2020 when she was cinematically arrested and put on trial. Epstein’s French partner Jean-Luc Brunel followed Epstein’s example and took his own life in 2022. Ghislaine, who maintains her innocence, was sentenced to 20 years and eligible for parole.

Typical of what this crime represents – the sexist and pedophilic abuse of powerful men – it is the woman who ends up guilty and behind bars. Ghislaine is in the right place, she is by no means a person without knowledge of what she was doing. On the contrary, Ghislaine did not and still does not see what was wrong with offering/forcing underage young people to have sex with men with money. In her perception, a woman’s role is to please men, no matter what, and if everyone gains something from the transaction then it’s even less of a problem. Epstein, Maxwell, and Brunel exploited young people of all countries and ages, destroying lives (some of these young women later killed themselves) and, again, they don’t understand how this could be criminal. But if two have died and one is in prison, why are we still talking about Jeffrey Epstein in early 2024? Because there is still much more.

The network of influence that “enjoyed” the luxuries and advantages that Epstein and Maxwell offered was notoriously made up of some of the most powerful and famous names on the planet, from former presidents to Hollywood stars. And they are almost all official because they are part of thousands of pages of court documents that were confidential until this week. That’s right, all the names are being released publicly for the first time, revealing the names that in one way or another were associated with Jeffrey Epstein. Some whose photos had already made the connection official, such as former presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, and Prince Andrew, but others caused strangeness and surprise.

The truth is, having the names on the records does not indicate any wrongdoing or even involvement in Epstein’s crimes. At least not all. These documents are part of testimonies from victims when they were asked whether they had ever identified famous faces at parties, trips, or at the millionaire’s house. But the same papers contain details about Epstein’s sexual abuse and some of his circle, something that until now was not in the public domain.

With only two batches of documents released, those who thought the story was finished have lost sleep again because not only have previously known accusations resurfaced, but new ones are being revealed. In addition to Ghislaine Maxwell, Prince Andrew was one of those most implicated in the investigations. One of his accusers, Virginia Giuffre, made a million-dollar financial agreement with Andrew while Queen Elizabeth II was still alive, contributing to the official removal of King Charles III‘s brother from the Royal Family senior circle. A headache that won’t go away for them and that will appear in the film Scoop, scheduled to be released this year.

Ironically, the documents are coming to light precisely because of Ghislaine Maxwell and Virginia Giuffre. They are part of the defamation lawsuit filed by Virginia against Ghislaine in 2015 when the businesswoman accused her of lying about the years of abuse she suffered at the hands of Epstein and associates. The case was resolved in 2017, but the files, with names and details forming part of all documentation, were under a protective seal that protected the identities of the people cited. The Miami Herald, the first newspaper to expose Epstein’s exploitation network, filed another lawsuit for the release of all sealed documents. In 2019, around 2,000 pages were opened for the first time, but still protecting the names of known people.

Ghislaine Maxwell’s legal team remained opposed to lifting the block until 2022. In a landmark decision in December, Judge Loretta Preska ruled that there was no longer legal justification for keeping the names secret since much information was already public. It was the last barrier to unmasking whoever was linked in any way to the scheme or to Epstein. Those mentioned had 14 days to appeal, but only two filed a request for confidentiality.

The documents have been fully open since January 1st. To date, the testimony of another Epstein victim, Johanna Sjoberg, is the richest in details and names. She cites having been abused by Andrew, that Epstein once told her that Bill Clinton “likes them young, meaning girls,” that she met Michael Jackson and David Copperfield at the millionaire’s Palm Beach home (but that neither of them did anything with the girls or her), just as he went with Epstein to Donald Trump’s casino in Atlantic City. But she also said that she never personally met or saw the former president on Epstein’s Caribbean island, not even seeing him being transported in a helicopter by Maxwell. Clinton denies that in his contact with Epstein, he had any knowledge of the crimes committed by the millionaire, but his name resurfaced once again when Virginia claimed he was involved in influencing Vanity Fair to publish an article about Epstein and suspicions of what he was doing.

Throughout the week, the names of Leonardo DiCaprio, Stephen Hawkins, and Cameron Diaz also circulated on social media as having been mentioned, but the context was not clear. As more documents are still being released in the coming days and weeks, there is much more to surprise. Dangerous connections that expose the rotten greed and wickedness of the rich and famous. No one will stop reading.

Pesquisar

Pesquisar