First things first: being one of the more than 150 people identified in the so-called 'Epstein files' does not necessarily mean there is any evidence of wrongdoing.
Despite social media being awash with speculation that the heavily anticipated court documents would essentially offer a list of rich and powerful men who were the convicted sex offender's "clients" or "co-conspirators", there was in reality no such list when the court-ordered release dropped this morning. Instead, the names released in the initial tranche of nearly 950 court documents include everyone from Jeffrey Epstein's employees, litigation witnesses, and many with only a passing connection to the disgraced late millionaire.
Still, the files do contain striking reminders that the businessman, who died by suicide aged 66 in prison while awaiting federal sex-trafficking charges in 2019, made great efforts to surround himself with the rich and powerful — and the fact that most of those named in the documents have not been accused of misconduct does not deter the public from wanting to know who they are.
Michael Jackson, Naomi Campbell, and Stephen Hawking are among the most striking names featured in the files, mostly in passing, simply as loose connections to Epstein — and in direct contrast to the now-countless conspiracy theories about the possible involvement of rich and powerful celebrity figures in sex trafficking.
But several key figures who have been accused of misconduct feature as well, from British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend who is now serving a 20-year prison term for helping to recruit and abuse his victims, to Prince Andrew, who has stepped down as a working royal since the allegations.
Among the bombshell claims to emerge in the files so far are that the Duke of York took part in an "underage orgy" on Epstein's private island, that the businessman claimed Bill Clinton liked his girls "young", and that he told Maxwell to offer people close to Virginia Giuffre money to deny Hawking took part in an island orgy.
So what are the files exactly? In most cases, they are transcripts of interviews and old police reports related to a US lawsuit filed in 2015 by Giuffre, an alleged victim who claims she was lured away from a job as a spa attendant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club to become a “masseuse” for Epstein, and one of dozens of women who sued the financier for abusing them at his homes in Florida, New York, the US Virgin Islands, and New Mexico. New York judge Loretta Preska ruled last month that the documents could be unsealed, saying that there was no legal justification for keeping them private.
The first batch were released last night, containing details of Giuffre's lawsuit against Maxwell, including claims that she was pressured into having sex with men in Epstein's social circle, all of whom have said her accounts were fabricated. Naturally, Maxwell is the most prominent name in the files — she's mentioned 208 times in the 950 pages so far — but Prince Andrew, the Duke of York and the most high-profile figure accused by Giuffre, is a prominent name, too.
Johanna Sjoberg, a then-college student who worked for Epstein for five years, features as a key witness for Giuffre in the files. Among her 40 pieces of evidence is her claim that the Duke touched her breast while sitting on a sofa in Epstein's apartment in 2001, and that Epstein once said former US president Bill Clinton "likes them young, referring to girls". More documents are expected to drop in the coming days.
From Michael Jackson's reported visit to Epstein's Palm Beach home, to Sjoberg's denials that she ever met Naomi Campbell at Epstein's parties, here are the most striking figures and their mentions in the files so far.
Ghislaine Maxwell
Number of mentions in the Epstein files: 208
In a nutshell: The British socialite, 62, has already been jailed for her involvement in the Epstein scandal, but the newly released files shed light on her relationships with Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew.
Unsurprisingly, Maxwell's is the name that appears the most in the newly released Epstein documents, which are part of a 2015 US defamation case against her by Giuffre. The name Maxwell technically appears 849 times, but in many cases this is in reference to legal matters and footnotes. Giuffre has previously claimed that Maxwell participated in Epstein's sexual abuse of teen girls and that Maxwell lured her into Epstein's circle under the pretence of work as a professional masseuse. Giuffre claims that the reality was that Maxwell "trainer [her] as a sex slave". Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and similar charges for procuring teen girls in December 2021, but the files give more detail about the alleged goings-on on Epstein's Caribbean island.
What the files say: According to the documents, Maxwell told the court in Giuffre's lawsuit that Andrew visited Epstein's island in the US Virgin Islands. “Were you present on the island when Prince Andrew visited?” she was asked. Maxwell said yes and, when asked how many times, said: “I can only remember once.” When asked if there were any girls on the island at that time, Maxwell insisted: “There were no girls on the island at all. No girls, no women, other than the staff who work at the house.”
She also references former president Bill Clinton. According to the files, she told the lawsuit that allegations that Clinton was on Epstein’s Caribbean island are “100 per cent false”, adding that she did recall one trip with Clinton and Epstein but that it was "a very fast-paced trip. It was very tiring.” She also dodged questions about her rumoured relationship with Clinton’s aide, Doug Band. “We are talking about adult consensual relationships, it’s off the record,” she said. Later, when pressed, she added: “I was friends with Doug.”
The strongest [allegation] is the Clinton dinner, and the new version in the Virgin Islands that Stephen Hawking participated in an underage orgy
The files also allege that Maxwell once mentioned Andrew in an email in which she seems to wrestle with how to speak of her relationship with Clinton. "I have already suffered such a terrible and painful loss over the last few days that I can't even see what life after press hell even looks like — statements that don't address all just lead to more questions... what is my relationship to Clinton? Andrew on and on. Let’s rest till Monday. I need head space," she wrote in an email sent from the address gmaxl@ellmax.com to her lawyer Philip Barden and her spokesman Ross Gow in January 2015.
What she says: Maxwell is currently appealing to dismiss her case or have a new trial, claiming she's been made a scapegoat because Epstein is dead. When asked to comment on the unsealing of these latest documents, her attorneys said: “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. 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.”
Prince Andrew
Number of mentions in the Epstein files: At least 67
In a nutshell: The Duke of York, 63, is accused of touching Sjoberg's breast at Epstein's Manhattan apartment and taking part in an "underage orgy" on Epstein's island. Giuffre has accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17.
The Duke's name is up there as one of the most-named figures in the documents so far — and certainly one of the most high-profile. He is named using his royal title a total of 67 times, but also appears several times simply as 'Andrew'. Giuffre, who was trafficked by Epstein, first accused the duke of sexually assaulting her when she was 17 in the year 2010, and Prince Andrew has stepped down from public life since then, paying millions to settle a civic sexual assault case with Giuffre, despite claiming never to have met her. He is no longer a working royal nor uses his HRH-style title.
What the files say: According to the documents, Sjoberg — who has already given interviews to the media about her claims against Andrew — claimed in her evidence that the duke touched her breast while they were sitting on a couch inside Epstein's Manhattan apartment in 2001. She said in court that, when she was 17, she visited the New York mansion while he, Maxwell, and the Duke of York were there, and that a puppet believed to be of the duke used for the BBC satire Spitting Image was placed on Giuffre's breast at the same time. "It looked like him," her evidence read. "And she [Maxwell] brought it down and presented it to him; and that was a great joke, because apparently it was a production from a show on BBC. And they decided to take a picture with it, in which Virginia and Andrew sat on a couch. They put the puppet on Virginia's lap, and I sat on Andrew's lap, and they put the puppet's hand on Virginia's breast, and Andrew put his hand on my breast, and they took a photo."
Sjoberg said she went to bed shortly after the alleged puppet incident. “Did you hear Ghislaine Maxwell tell Virginia to do anything while you were in that room?” she was asked. Sjoberg replied: “No.”
What he says: The duke has always strongly denied the allegations against him, including Sjoberg's, and Buckingham Palace has described the claims as "categorically untrue".
Bill Clinton
Number of mentions in the Epstein files: 73
In a nutshell: Epstein reportedly told Sjoberg that the former US president, 77, "likes them young, referring to girls". Clinton claims his contact with Epstein was limited to four trips with staff and two briefing meetings, but documents yet to be released reportedly include a claim that he also attended Epstein's island, which he denies.
Clinton, president of the United States from 1993 to 2001, is mentioned a total of 73 times in the documents so far — not the first time he has been associated with Epstein. He was a high-profile acquaintance of Epstein's for several years and, at Maxwell's trial in 2021, the billionaire financier's long-time pilot alleged that Clinton was among the famous guests whom he flew to his luxury properties around the world. Clinton abandoned Epstein as an acquaintance in 2008, when the financier was sent to jail for paying a 14-year-old girl for sex. The latest files allege that Epstein once said Clinton "likes them young, referring to girls" and documents yet to be released reportedly include a claim that Giuffre met Clinton on Epstein's private Caribbean island, Little St James, which he denies. Flight logs from one of Epstein's private pilots have, however, confirmed that Clinton flew on Epstein's plane several times between 2002 and 2003 as part of humanitarian projects in Africa, and on trips to Paris, Bangkok and Brunei.
What the files say: Sjoberg's testimony in the files alleges that Epstein once told her that Clinton "likes them young, referring to girls". Her evidence reads: "I knew he had dealings with Bill Clinton. I did not know they were friends until I read the Vanity Fair article about them going to Africa together." The number of times Clinton is mentioned in the files is partly to do with the fact that Giuffre was questioned by Maxwell's lawyers about inaccuracies in media coverage. One story quoted Giuffre as saying she had ridden in a helicopter with Clinton, which Giuffre said did not happen. She has not accused Clinton of any wrongdoing and there is no implication of any illegality.
What he says: Clinton claims his contact with Epstein was limited to four trips with staff and two briefing meetings, and that he cut off all contact with Epstein in 2005, three years before Epstein served a 13-month jail work-release programme after paying a 14-year-old girl for sex. Years later, in 2019, Clinton issued a statement saying he "knows nothing" about Epstein's crimes and that the pair had not spoken in "over a decade" since being associated in a philanthropic capacity. He also denied the island claim, saying he had "never been to Little St James Island, Epstein's ranch in New Mexico or his residence in Florida."
Donald Trump
Number of mentions in the Epstein files: 4
In a nutshell: The former US president, 77, features in the files despite never appearing at any of Epstein's homes. The files suggest that Epstein once suggested calling Trump to organise a trip to a casino. Sjoberg claims that she never massaged him.
Clinton isn't the only former US president to be mentioned in the files. Donald Trump, who was friends with Epstein in the 1990s, distanced himself from the financier since the allegations. The files detail Sjoberg telling lawyers about Epstein's suggestion of going to a casino with Maxwell, Giuffre and Trump, and at Maxwell's 2021 trial, one of Epstein's anonymous accusers told the court they were introduced by him to Trump when they were 14 years old. Trump is also mentioned in the files when Giuffre was questioned by Maxwell's lawyers about inaccuracies in media coverage. One story quoted Giuffre as saying she had flirted with Trump, which Giuffre said did not happen. She has not accused Trump of any wrongdoing.
What the files say: According to the filings, Epstein once suggested calling Trump to organise an outing to a casino with Maxwell and Giuffre during an unscheduled trip to Atlantic City in New Jersey in 2001. Epstein, Maxwell and Giuffre had reportedly been planning to go to New York, but the flight was later diverted to Atlantic City, prompting Epstein to suggest calling the former president. “As we were flying, Jeffrey said, ‘Why don’t you go sit in the cockpit to check out the landing?’“ Sjoberg told lawyers. "So we were sitting there, and the pilots told me to go back and tell him that we can’t land in New York and that we were going to have to land in Atlantic City. Jeffrey said, ‘Great, we’ll call up Trump and we’ll go to’ — I don’t recall the name of the casino, but — ‘we’ll go to the casino’.”
What he says: Trump said he was "not a fan" of Epstein's after the businessman's arrest in 2019, despite calling him a "terrific guy" many years earlier in 2002. “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy... It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side," he said at the time, after moving in the same social circles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. A photo two years previously, in 2000, shows Trump, his then-girlfriend Melania, Epstein and Maxwell at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Trump later said he only "knew [Epstein] like everybody in Palm Beach knew him", explaining that he "threw him out" of Mar-o-Lago after a "falling out". The pair are understood to have fallen out over their competing bids for a house in Palm Beach in 2004.
Alan Dershowitz
Number of mentions in the Epstein files: 137
In a nutshell: Epstein's lawyer, 85, has previously been accused of sexual abuse by Giuffre, which she withdrew in 2022. The latest files show Sjoberg denied that she had sexual relations with him.
The former Harvard Law School professor was previously accused of sexual abuse by Giuffre, who claimed that she was trafficked for sex by Epstein for Dershowitz. She withdrew this accusation in 2022, saying she "may have made a mistake" in identifying him as an abuser. It has also been claimed that Dershowitz was one of several "powerful individuals" that Epstein forced young women to have sex with "on numerous occasions". Dershowitz has vehemently denied all claims, saying he wanted every last document to be released to prove that he "did nothing wrong". The latest files feature an allegation that Epstein forced a woman named as Jane Doe #3, who was a "minor" at the time, to "have sexual relations" with Dershowitz, adding: "In addition to being a participant in the abuse of Jane Doe #3 and other minors, Dershowitz was an eye-witness to the sexual abuse of many other minors by Epstein and several of Epstein's co-conspirators." Sjoberg denied having sex with him.
What the files say: According to the documents, Epstein allegedly forced a woman named as Jane Doe #3, who was a "minor" at the time, to "have sexual relations" with Dershowitz. "In addition to being a participant in the abuse of Jane Doe #3 and other minors, Dershowitz was an eye-witness to the sexual abuse of many other minors by Epstein and several of Epstein's co-conspirators," the files added. Sjoberg was reportedly asked about having sexual relations with Dershowitz in the back of a limousine and denied that this happened. He is named more than 100 times in the documents so far, but in some cases this is simply in footnotes referring to legal issues.
What he says: Dershowitz has vehemently denied all claims. Before the files were released this week, he said that he wanted every last document and "piece of paper" relating to Epstein to be publicly released, adding that these would prove that he "did nothing wrong". "I want everything out, every document, every piece of paper, half-truths or lies, and I wanted them out for personal reasons because I know that they would prove what I've said from day one, that I did nothing wrong," he said. "There are some people who may be ashamed of the fact that they hung out with Epstein but, remember, a lot of people hung out with Epstein before he was convicted. Presidents of Harvard, deans, Nobel-quality scientists, he was very well thought of in the beginning."
Michael Jackson
Number of mentions in the Epstein files: 2
In a nutshell: The late king of pop, who was 50 when he died in 2009, visited Epstein at his Palm Beach home and Sjoberg remembers meeting him, but says she did not massage him
What the files say: According to the documents, Sjoberg was asked if she met "anybody famous" while with Epstein. She said she did meet Jackson at Epstein's home in Palm Beach, but that nothing untoward happened with the late pop icon.
What he says: Jackson died before the allegations emerged. He is not accused of any wrongdoing.
David Copperfield
Number of mentions in the Epstein files: 6
In a nutshell: The American magician, 67, had dinner with Epstein and allegedly asked Sjoberg if she knew girls were getting paid to find other girls.
Copperfield's relationship with Epstein has been reported before, including as far back as 2019 when the New York Times described Maxwell's attempts to find young girls for her then-boyfriend, Epstein. His name appears in these latest documents six times, including a mention of him dining with Epstein.
What the files say: Sjoberg's testimony describes her going to a dinner at one of Epstein's homes, which was attended by Copperfield. She said he performed magic tricks before asking if she was aware "that girls were getting paid to find other girls". She also claimed that Copperfield did not go into specific details about what he meant by this.
What he says: Copperfield has not yet responded to requests for comment
Stephen Hawking
Number of mentions in the Epstein files: 1
In a nutshell: The famous physicist, who was 76 when he died in 2018, visited Epstein's island in 2006. One of Epstein's accusers claimed he participated in an "underage orgy", but Epstein denied this, suggesting Maxwell offer Giuffre money to help prove it.
One of the more surprising names of all has been that of the late Stephen Hawking, the famous physicist who died in 2018 at the age of 76 and was pictured visiting Epstein's private Caribbean island, Little St James, in 2006 — the same year he and 20 other well-known scientists attended a conference on gravity on a neighbouring island, funded by Epstein. The pictures emerged nine years later in 2015 and showed the Cambridge professor attending a barbecue and taking a boat cruise and submarine tour of the sea bed. According to the newly released files, Epstein wanted to deny allegations that Hawking took part in an underage orgy on the island, emailing Maxwell to ask her to help prove that the allegations were false and even suggesting that she could offer money to Giuffre to help prove this.
What the files say: According to the documents, Epstein emailed Maxwell to deny claims that Hawking participated in an underage orgy. In an email sent from the convicted paedophile to Maxwell on January 12, 2015, Epstein asks Maxwell to see if any of Giuffre's friends or family would come forward to help prove that her allegations were false. He wrote: "You can issue a reward to any of Virginia's friends, acquaints, family that come forward and help prove her allegations are false. The strongest is the Clinton dinner, and the new version in the Virgin Islands that Stephen Hawking participated in an underage orgy."
What he says: Hawking died before the allegations emerged. He is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Naomi Campbell
Number of mentions in the Epstein files: 1
In a nutshell: The English supermodel, 53, is only mentioned once in the files, when Sjoberg is asked about meeting guests at Epstein's residence. Sjoberg says she does not remember meeting her.
What the files say: According to the documents, Sjoberg said she did not remember meeting Campbell when asked about meeting guests at Epstein's home.
What she says: Campbell has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Kevin Spacey
Number of mentions in the Epstein files: 2
In a nutshell: The American actor, 64, is mentioned twice in the files, when Sjoberg is asked about meeting guests at Epstein's residence. Sjoberg says she does not remember meeting him.
What the files say: According to the documents, Sjoberg said she did not remember meeting Spacey when asked about meeting guests at Epstein's home.
What he says: Spacey has not yet responded to requests for comment.
George Lucas
Number of mentions in the Epstein files: 1
In a nutshell: The Star Wars creator and philanthropist, 79, is only mentioned once in the files, when Sjoberg is asked about meeting guests at Epstein's residence. Sjoberg says she does not remember meeting him.
What the files say: According to the documents, Sjoberg said she did not remember meeting Lucas when asked about meeting guests at Epstein's home.
What he says: Lucas has not yet responded to requests for comment.
