Since the names of more than 100 people who were in contact with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019, were published in a 900-page document on Wednesday evening, many questions have been raised. There had been speculation that many celebrities from Hollywood, finance and politics were associated with Epstein. There was talk of a “list” that would be at least embarrassing for many powerful people, and perhaps even relevant under criminal law. The most important questions at a glance.
What does it mean when a name is on this list?
First of all, it is important to note that this is not a list as such. Rather, the names now published can be found in documents relating to a court case in which a woman named Virginia Giuffre sued Epstein’s friend and helper Ghislaine Maxwell in 2015. Giuffre alleged that Maxwell introduced her to Epstein so that he would sexually abuse her.
Giuffre later also sued Britain’s Prince Andrew. She said that he sexually molested her as a minor in the early 2000s and that Epstein and Maxwell made it possible. The prince denied this, but paid Giuffre several million dollars in 2022 to avoid legal proceedings.
Maxwell, in turn, was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a New York court in 2021 for helping Epstein to abuse underage girls. Epstein was arrested in 2019 and died in a New York prison. Authorities said it was a suicide.
Which celebrities appear and for what reasons?
The most prominent names in the documents include former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, the magician David Copperfield, the musician Michael Jackson, who died in 2009, and the physicist Stephen Hawking, who also died in 2009. The fact that they were mentioned does not mean that they had closer contacts with Epstein or knew about his crimes. Bill Clinton already released a statement in 2019 in which he explained that after his term in office ended in early 2001, he traveled a few times in Epstein’s private jet, which he had made available to him for trips to Africa, where Clinton’s foundation is active . Clinton said at the time that he knew nothing about Epstein’s crimes, and he had not had any contact with Epstein for a long time.
The fact that Copperfield and Jackson appear in the documents is due to the testimony of a witness who said she saw the two of them at one of Epstein’s properties. She made no accusations against them.
Epstein liked to surround himself with well-known scientists and supported their projects with millions of dollars. Stephen Hawking was one of these scientists.
The witness did not accuse Bill Clinton, but testified in the 2015 trial that Epstein told her that Clinton liked her young – a reference to his preference for women.
Donald Trump once praised Epstein as a womanizer in an interview a good 20 years ago. He said he liked beautiful women as much as he did New York Magazine, and many of these women are “on the younger side.” However, like Clinton, Trump had long had no contact with Epstein when he was arrested.
Since Epstein was first convicted of abusing underage girls in Florida in 2008, Trump and Clinton have broken off all contact. Unlike Prince Andrew, who continued to appear publicly with Epstein.
Why were the names released now?
In the 2015 trial, the names of everyone named in the trial were initially anonymized to protect their privacy. The documents also contain the names of Epstein’s victims and his employees. In December 2023, a judge ruled that these names could be published from the beginning of 2024 because there was a public interest.
Will this have legal consequences?
There are no pending cases relating to the crimes committed by Epstein, Maxwell and any accomplices. Epstein is dead. Maxwell has been legally convicted and is in prison. No other people are currently being investigated.
The names in the documents had been known to the judiciary for years. It was also known in the media that many celebrities had contact with Epstein, which does not mean that they knew about his crimes.
Bill Clinton, for example, admitted and regretted the fact that Epstein used one of Epstein’s planes years ago, as he did not know anything about his actions at the time.
In extreme right-wing conspiracy circles, Epstein was considered the leader of a pedophile ring that primarily included liberals and Democratic politicians. In practice, even after the publication of the new documents, nothing of this could be proven.
What new have we learned about the Epstein case?
To be honest: nothing.