Court documents reveal names of powerful men allegedly linked to Jeffrey Epstein

Court documents made public on Wednesday disclosed the names of dozens of powerful men with alleged connections to convicted sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein who died by suicide in 2019.

Federal Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan unsealed the documents, revealing the names of numerous individuals described in a 2015 civil lawsuit as associates, affiliates or victims of Epstein.

The documents include references to former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, the magician David Copperfield, Prince Andrew, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, actor Kevin Spacey, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, the late New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, and former Vice President Al Gore, among others.

The fact that people were named in these documents doesn't mean any of them face allegations or evidence of wrongdoing.

Many of the most prominent individuals, including U.S. politicians, British royalty, tech tycoons and bankers were already known to have links to Epstein because of previous court cases or disclosures in the media.

Most of those publicly named have denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein's criminal activities previously.

These trove of records do offer more details on a case that has drawn huge public attention and provide new, salacious allegations about these powerful men's behavior.

Federal prosecutors say Epstein — who worked for decades as a private financier for a secretive list of wealthy clients — also operated an underaged sex-trafficking ring based in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida.

Epstein allegedly developed a scheme to identify and exploit "dozens" of vulnerable girls and young women, some as young as 14 years old, beginning around 1994 and continuing at least until 2004.

Some of his victims later claimed in civil lawsuits that Epstein instructed them to have sex with a who's-who of powerful men.

According to one suit filed in 2014, Epstein arranged sexual encounters for "numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, a well-known Prime Minister, and other world leaders."

The more than three dozen documents naming Epstein's associates were compiled as part of a 2015 civil lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was one of Epstein's underaged victims.

One of the more notable names, former President Clinton, is mentioned frequently in the documents.

They say that Clinton allegedly took a trip to Thailand with Epstein and include allegations from one witness who testified Epstein told her "Clinton likes them young, referring to girls."

Angel Ureña, a spokesman for Clinton, said it's been nearly 20 years since Clinton last had contact with Epstein and that the former president has never been accused of any wrongdoing. Ureña referred NPR to a previous statement made in 2019 on behalf of Clinton in response to allegations of ties to Epstein.

Growing suspicions as federal prosecutors delay prosecution

Local, state and federal authorities in Florida first investigated Epstein for alleged sexual activity involving minors as early as 2005.

Some women later claimed Epstein raped them repeatedly.

"I was forced into his car, taken to his mansion and raped," said Sarah Ransome in a 2021 interview with NPR. "He knew exactly where I was. It didn't matter where I was."

But after extensive negotiations with state and federal prosecutors, Epstein avoided federal prosecution. He was allowed to plead guilty to relatively minor state charges involving prostitution and prostitution involving a minor.

He was sentenced to serve just 18 months, much of it in a Florida work-release program.

After his release in 2009, Epstein, then a registered sex-offender, continued to hobnob for nearly a decade with influential, powerful and wealthy people.

A Wall Street Journal investigation published last month found that after his conviction Epstein was often accompanied "by attractive women in their late teens or twenties" to meetings with billionaires, celebrities and politicians

In 2018, Epstein's world unraveled when the Miami Herald newspaper published an expose of Epstein's criminal activity and the legal deal-making that helped him avoid lengthier prison time.

Epstein, then 66 years old, was arrested in July 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges. Justice Department officials say he took his own life in prison a month later while awaiting trial.

After Epstein's death, secrecy and growing conspiracy theories

The papers were sealed after the Giuffre's case was settled in 2016 for an undisclosed amount of money.

The Miami Herald then waged a 5-year legal battle to have all documents linked to the case made public.

Posting on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Giuffre also praised Judge Preska's decision to release the names.

"There's going to be a lot of nervous [people] over Christmas and New Years...who's on the naughty list?" Giuffre wrote. "This wouldn't be possible without the Honorable Judge Preska."

The details released Wednesday offer a paper trail that points to alleged friendships and associations between Epstein and these notable figures, some of which allegedly continued on even after Epstein became a registered sex offender.

After Epstein's suicide, his case spawned a cascade of conspiracy theories.

As recently as this week, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rogers suggested in a public appearance that talk show host Jimmy Kimmel might be named in the Epstein documents.

In a social media post Kimmel fired back, saying he had no contact with Epstein and threatening to sue. "Your reckless words put my family in danger," Kimmel wrote.

Even without embellishment, it's clear Epstein's web of criminal activity operated in close proximity to some of the world's most influential individuals and institutions.

Flight manifests first published by the online journal Gawker show former President Clinton rode on Epstein's private plane more than a dozen times.

In a 2002 interview, Donald Trump told New York Magazine Epstein was a "great guy" and said they had known one-another for fifteen years.

"It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side," Trump said.

In a 2021 interview with CNN, Microsoft founder Bill Gates voiced regret for forming a connection with Epstein in the years after Epstein's 2008 conviction. "It was a huge mistake to spend time with him," Gates said.

According to Giuffre, she was instructed by Epstein to have sexual relations with a lengthy list of associates while she was still a minor.

In legal filings and depositions, she previously named billionaire Glenn Dubin, Prince Andrew, former New Mexico Gov. Richardson and computer scientist Marvin Minsky. All have denied any wrong-doing.

While Epstein and Maxwell alone faced criminal charges, the scandal has had widespread repercussions.

-In 2019, then-U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, appointed by President Donald Trump, abruptly resigned. According to the Justice Department, Acosta played a "pivotal" role while working as a U.S. attorney in 2008, negotiating a deal for Epstein that helped him avoid federal federal sex-trafficking charges. Acosta denied any wrongdoing. A DOJ probe later concluded that Acosta used "poor judgment" in the case.

-In November 2021, Jes Straley, then head of U.K.-based Barclays Bank, resigned after it was revealed he maintained close ties to Epstein after Epstein's 2008 conviction for sex crimes. In a May 2023 report, British officials concluded Straley acted "recklessly and with a lack of integrity" while misleading regulators about his friendship with Epstein. Straley has denied any wrongdoing.

-In February 2022, Prince Andrew reached a settlement with Giuffre, saying in court documents that he "regrets his association with Epstein" and agreeing to make a "substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights," according to a document filed by David Boies, an attorney for Giuffre.

-In May 2023, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $75 million to settle claims by Epstein's victims that the bank was liable for "supporting, facilitating, and otherwise providing the most critical service for the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking organization." The settlement included no admission of wrongdoing by Deutsche Bank.

-In May 2023, attorneys for JP Morgan claimed in legal filings that government officials in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein maintained a home, "knew of and facilitated Epstein's crimes." However, the bank later agreed to pay $75 million to the Virgin Islands government to settle claims linked to Epstein's activity.

-In June 2023, JP Morgan agreed to pay roughly $290 million into a settlement fund for victims, after serving for more than 15 years as Epstein's go-to bank. JP Morgan has denied any wrongdoing. "We all now understand that Epstein's behavior was monstrous," bank officials said in a statement sent to NPR.

NPR's David Gura and Ximena Bustillo contributed to this story. [Copyright 2024 NPR]