The late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s court records continue to be unsealed, with four more tranches of documents released on Friday. These 132 newly released documents are part of a defamation lawsuit brought by alleged victim Virginia Giuffre against Epstein’s longtime companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, and reveal Maxwell’s reactions to explosive allegations made by Giuffre.
The newly unsealed documents illustrate Maxwell’s apparent agonizing over how to respond to the allegations, as she expressed concerns about potential lawsuits aimed at her and worried about her connections to famous men, including Prince Andrew and former President Bill Clinton.
In a newly unsealed email exchange from January 2015, Maxwell wrote to her lawyer and publicist, expressing her fears of getting lost in a “US legal nightmare” and seeking to avoid litigation. Her representative had previously issued a statement calling Giuffre’s claims “untrue,” but Maxwell seemed conflicted about how to respond further, fearing it could lead to more questions about her connections to prominent figures.
Maxwell’s U.K. lawyer, Philip Barden, urged her to deny the allegations and advised against remaining silent, warning that silence could lead to further reputational damage. Meanwhile, Epstein appeared to take an interest in Maxwell’s response, asking her what she decided to do and instructing her to challenge the press to investigate whether Clinton was ever on his island.
The newly unsealed documents also revealed Maxwell’s concerns about the potential fallout from her response, as she worried that saying too much could lead to a defamation suit from Giuffre. Indeed, the very lawsuit from which these documents originated resulted in a defamation suit against Maxwell by Giuffre.
The unsealing of documents from the court files is expected to continue next week, with a total of about 250 documents anticipated to be made public. This story is still developing, and updates are expected as more documents are unsealed.
Among the revelations from the documents, Giuffre has claimed that she was forced by Epstein and Maxwell to have sex with Prince Andrew and other prominent men. Prince Andrew has denied these claims and settled a civil lawsuit with Giuffre in 2022, with no admission of wrongdoing. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 of aiding Epstein’s sex trafficking of young women and girls. Her appeal will be heard in March. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.