Epstein documents: Prince Andrew's puppet, Clinton's 'preferences' and underage orgy allegations - Sky News

Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Stephen Hawking are among those named in court documents relating to Ghislaine Maxwell, her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and alleged victims of sexual abuse.

The newly unsealed court documents name dozens of Epstein's associates, although many of them are not accused of any wrongdoing.

It comes after a US judge, Loretta Preska, ruled in December documents that were part of a 2015 defamation case by Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell should be made public.

Judge Preska ordered some individuals should be named because they had already given interviews to the media.

The first documents of around 250 are expected to eventually be unsealed - and largely mention figures whose names were already known, including high-profile friends of Epstein's and victims who have spoken publicly.

Live updates: Hundreds of Epstein and Maxwell documents released

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Who is Ghislaine Maxwell?

In one document, a woman named Johanna Sjoberg - while giving testimony in May 2016 - claimed the Duke of York touched her breast while sitting on a couch inside the US billionaire's Manhattan apartment in 2001.

Buckingham Palace has previously said the allegations are "categorically untrue".

At the time, Ms Sjoberg testified that Maxwell called her to an upstairs closet where they pulled out a puppet of Prince Andrew that had been made for a BBC programme.

"It looked like him," Sjoberg said. "And she 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."

Image: Johanna Sjoberg. Pic: ANL/Shutterstock

In the documents released, Ms Sjoberg said that while flying to Manhattan with Epstein, Maxwell, Ms Giuffre and Prince Andrew, the financier's jet was diverted to Atlantic City, New Jersey - where Epstein suggested going to one of Donald Trump's casinos.

"The pilot's told me to go back and tell [Epstein] that we can't land in New York and that we were going to have to land in Atlantic City," she said.

"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."

Later, when questioned on if she had to give Mr Trump a massage, Ms Sjoberg said she was never asked to.

Read more:
Who's who in the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal?
Prince Andrew and Epstein: The claims and denials
Epstein's death 'raises serious questions'

Clinton 'likes them young', Epstein told victim

In Ms Sjoberg's interview under oath, she also described conversations with Epstein in which he claimed former US president Bill Clinton "likes them young, referring to girls".

ABC News previously reported that Mr Clinton is named as "Doe 36" and mentioned in more than 50 of the documents.

In a statement released in 2019, a spokesperson for the former president said he had "not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade" and "knows nothing about the terrible crimes".

There is no indication of any wrongdoing by Mr Clinton.

Ghislaine Maxwell confirmed in other documents released that Mr Clinton had travelled on board Epstein's private jet. She did not know how many times.

Epstein: 'Issue a reward to... prove her allegations false'

Other papers unsealed included an email from Epstein to Maxwell, where he proposed for her to "issue a reward" to any of Ms Giuffre's friends who could dispute her allegations shortly after she filed a civil claim in the US in 2015.

The email read: "You can issue a reward to any of Virginia's friends, acquaints, family that come forward and help prove her allegations are false."

He goes on to outline the allegations he is trying to show are untrue.

"The strongest is the Clinton dinner, and the new version in the Virgin Islands that Stephen Hawking participated in an underage orgy."

Mr Hawking was photographed on Epstein's island in March 2006, as part of a trip to a science conference on neighbouring island St Thomas.

The conference was paid for by Epstein and saw 20 other scientists attend.

A spokesperson for Mr Clinton has in the past denied that he had ever "been to Little St James Island, Epstein's ranch in New Mexico or his residence in Florida".

The names of more than 150 people mentioned in Ms Giuffre's defamation case are in the process of being released under Judge Preska's ruling.

In a deposition, Ms Giuffre said she had sex with several politicians and financial leaders.

Her formal written evidence named several prominent figures who have previously denied her allegations, including hedge fund owner Glenn Dubin, billionaire US businessman Tom Pritzker and the late New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

A spokesperson for Mr Pritzker said the businessman "continues to vehemently deny" the allegation.

Analysis: Epstein court documents reveal how at ease sex offender was with high-powered associates

Jeffrey Epstein cultivated a network of accomplices and associates over a period of decades and as the wheels of justice turn, that web is becoming clearer.

These newly unsealed court documents name dozens of his associates, although many of them are not accused of any wrongdoing.

Michael Jackson, for instance, is named by one victim as having been seen at Epstein's mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, but there is no suggestion that he was there for nefarious reasons.

Donald Trump - whose association with Epstein has been reported previously - is also referred to on occasion in the documents, but is not accused of anything untoward.

There was a frenzied anticipation about the names of Epstein associates - previously John and Jane Does - being unredacted.

Far-right conspiracy theorists see Epstein as the key to proving that elite Democrats comprise a secret paedophile cabal. But anyone hoping, or expecting, a list of celebrity paedophiles will have been sorely disappointed.

Many of the names were already known because of years of reporting on Epstein's crimes and other court cases, both criminal and civil.

Where Epstein's story is retold, Prince Andrew is never far away.

This was the first time a deposition by Johanna Sjoberg had been made public, although the allegation that he groped her while playing with a Spitting Image puppet of himself, was already known. The prince previously denied the claims.

What is clear from these documents is how at ease Epstein was with an array of politicians, celebrities and royalty, all the while becoming one of the most notorious paedophiles in US legal history.

For those individuals, even if they are not explicitly accused of any wrongdoing, any reminder of their link to him is cause to squirm.

Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.

Maxwell, 62, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after she was convicted of helping Epstein recruit and sexually abuse underage girls.

Additional reporting from Niamh Lynch

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