Trove of documents newly unsealed are part of a defamation lawsuit brought against Maxwell back in 2015 by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre – documents which years later a judge has finally ordered to be released
INDEPENDENT UK
Convicted sex trafficker and Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell has reacted to the long-anticipated release of a trove of court documents naming several of the dead paedophile’s associates.
Maxwell’s attorneys Arthur Aidala and Diana Fabi Samson released a statement on Wednesday night, after the filings began to be unsealed, in which she continued to insist her innocence and vowed to plough ahead with her appeal.
“Ghislaine Maxwell took no position on the Court’s recent decision to unseal documents in Giuffre v. Maxwell as these disclosures have no bearing on her or her pending appeal,” they said in the statement, shared with The Messenger.
“Ghislaine’s focus is on the upcoming appellate argument asking for her entire case to dismissed. She is confident that she will obtain justice in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
“She has consistently and vehemently maintained her innocence.”
The trove of documents released on Wednesday are part of a defamation lawsuit brought against 62-year-old Maxwell back in 2015 by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre – documents which years later a judge has finally ordered must be unsealed.
Ms Giuffre filed the suit after Maxwell accused her of lying about the years-long abuse she had suffered at the hands of Epstein and some in his inner circle.
The suit was settled in 2017 but was placed under a protective seal – with the identities of those named in the filings kept under lock and key.
The Miami Herald sued for the release of the sealed documents while Maxwell’s legal team sought to block it.
Around 2,000 pages of documents were first unsealed in 2019, with further documents released over the following years.
But, this current trove of documents remained sealed – and the names of hundreds of people associated with the dead paedophile were kept secret, known only as Jane and John Does.
Then, in a landmark ruling last month, US District Judge Loretta Preska ruled that the trove of documents could be released and the names unsealed in full after 1 January.
While the federal judge ordered the names of several Epstein victims to remain anonymous, she said that there was no legal justification to keep the names of Epstein’s associates redacted as “John and Jane Does”.
This has now paved the way for several famous figures to find themselves tied to the notorious disgraced financier.
Among the names revealed in the first batch of the filings released are former president Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and Donald Trump.
In a newly-unsealed deposition, Epstein victim Johanna Sjoberg spoke about what she knew about Mr Clinton’s ties to Epstein.
“[Epstein] said one time that Clinton likes them young, referring to girls,” she testified.
