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NEW YORK (AP) — More than 100 court files related to a lawsuit were unsealed Friday. Jeffrey EpsteinProviding more details about the late millionaire financier’s sexual abuse of underage girls and his interactions with celebrities.
latest round of document It includes additional excerpts of testimony from people who worked for Epstein, copies of phone messages he received — including one from film producer Harvey Weinstein — and scores of legal memos with lawyers discussing the matter. Who could potentially be called as a witness in their case, if it ever went to trial.
No new blockbuster revelations were immediately apparent, and much of the record included material that has been the subject of numerous previous news stories about Epstein and his victims. But like other documents previously made public in Epstein-related trials, they provide a window into the rarefied world in which he lived.
All the records relate to a defamation lawsuit filed by one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre filed a case in 2015 against the millionaire’s girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was accused by multiple women of helping Epstein recruit underage victims. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Here are some findings from the latest batch of documents released:
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The records released Friday include testimony from a former maid at Epstein’s home in Palm Beach in 2009, FloridaWho talked about how much time the financier spent with the British royal Prince Andrew, who was a longtime friend of Maxwell.
Juan Alessi testified that “Prince Andrew spent several weeks with us” and that when he visited, he received daily massages at the mansion.
Alessi said Andrew would live in the main guest bedroom, which he referred to as the “blue room.” He recalled seeing Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, on one occasion, but added, “I don’t think she slept there.”
Alessi also remembers seeing other celebrities, including Donald Trump and “a lot of queens and other famous people that I don’t remember.”
Trump, whose Mar-a-Lago club is also in Palm Beach, would come to Epstein’s home for dinner, Alessi said, but he “never sat at the table,” instead eating meals with Alessi in the kitchen. Asked if Trump ever got a massage, he said, “No. Because she has her own spa.”
Alessi, who worked at Epstein’s sprawling home from 1990 to 2002, previously testified at Maxwell’s 2021 trial that she had seen “many, many, many” young adult female visitors, often topless by the pool. Was resting. He also admitted to stealing $6,300 from Epstein’s desk.
Prince Andrew was publicly criticized after photos of his meeting with Epstein emerged New York The financier was even jailed in Florida for a sex crime.
Giuffre sued Andrew and accused him of sexually abusing her when she was 17 years old. Andrew said he did not remember ever meeting Giuffre. The case was settled without a trial in 2022, but the allegations damaged his public reputation and led Andrew to step back from some royal duties.
The Associated Press does not generally name people who say they are victims of sexual abuse unless they have come forward publicly with their story, as Giuffre has.
A document unsealed Friday includes copies of phone messages Epstein received, which were handwritten by employees in 2004, a year before police in Palm Beach began investigating allegations that he paid underage girls for sex. Was doing.
At the time, Epstein was attracting attention for his association with the rich and powerful by offering free rides on his private jet to celebrities, including former President Bill Clinton and actor Kevin Spacey.
Phone messages, though mostly mundane, give a small taste of those relationships.
“She had Mr. Harvey Weinstein on the phone,” a message about the missed call read.
Weinstein, who was a force in Hollywood at the time, was once part of a media investment group that also included Epstein. Weinstein would be accused of raping and sexually assaulting women in the entertainment business years later and is serving a lengthy prison sentence after pleading guilty in New York and Los Angeles.
A spokesperson for Weinstein did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Friday.
There are also several messages about missed calls from Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent close to Epstein. Brunel was awaiting trial on charges that he raped underage girls, before committing suicide in a Paris prison in 2022.
When Epstein was initially investigated by Palm Beach police in 2005, detectives spoke to several girls from a high school in the area who said they had been paid to massage Epstein.
Tony Figueroa, who worked as a driver for Epstein and once dated Giuffre, spoke about the effort to recruit the girls during his 2016 deposition.
“Jeffrey was giving us $200 for every item we brought in,” he said. “I would find friends that I went to school with and I would take them there and introduce them, and then I would just leave.”
He said Maxwell would also sometimes call him, “asking me to bring him girls.”
Figueroa has told the same story in media interviews in the years since that statement.
public relations disaster
The legal storm that Epstein and Maxwell were facing is well depicted in a January 11, 2015 email from their lawyer Philip Barden, who referred to Maxwell as “G” and Epstein as “JE.”
He urged a strong public reaction to Giuffre’s claims because silence was “reputational suicide”.
“It has now been reported that Ji engaged in direct abuse – as I feared would happen. Will be reported to authorities further,” Barden wrote in a message to a person whose name was copied and blacked out in the message along with Maxwell’s.
“It is necessary for litigation, investigation and reputational reasons to issue a solid denial. I can understand why Jay doesn’t want that because he might not like it but he’s already toast,” he said.
Four years later, Epstein would die by suicide, found in a jail cell after being arrested on sex trafficking charges in July 2019. It would take another two years before a jury in New York agreed that Maxwell helped Epstein recruit and groom teenage girls for sexual exploitation and sometimes participated in the abuse.
Copyright 2024 The associated Press, All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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