A key deadline for the unsealing of the names of nearly 200 associates of the sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has passed, but it could still be days before the court records are made public, according to the legal team representing one of his most outspoken accusers.
The unsealing is scheduled to begin today, court officials told Fox News Digital, but a spokesperson for plaintiff Virginia Giuffre’s team said documents could be delayed until next week.
A court-ordered Jan. 1 deadline for John and Jane Does to appeal the looming unsealing of their names in a lawsuit against Epstein’s convicted sex-trafficking madam Ghislaine Maxwell expired at midnight Monday.
But the judge’s order contained no specifics about the timing for the next step: the preparation and unsealing of documents expected to include the names of former associates, friends, employees, accusers and potential accomplices.
Jeffrey Epstein pictured in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Sept. 8, 2004. (Rick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images)
U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska issued a 51-page order last month giving anyone whose name was set to be released in connection with the 2015 lawsuit Giuffre, a prominent Epstein accuser, brought against Maxwell two weeks to appeal.
“After which, counsel are asked to confer, prepare the documents for unsealing pursuant to this order, and post the documents on the docket,” the judge ordered.
JEFFREY EPSTEIN SCANDAL: FEDERAL JUDGE TO UNSEAL 180 PREVIOUSLY REDACTED NAMES
Photo from 2001 that was included in court files shows Prince Andrew with his arm around the waist of 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre who says Jeffrey Epstein paid her to have sex with the prince. Andrew has denied the charges. In the background is Ghislaine Maxwell. (U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals)
J. Doe 107 was not mentioned in the judge’s Dec. 18 order, but her attorney filed a request for a 30-day extension to raise arguments about why her identity should remain under seal.
The judge gave her until Jan. 22 to submit an affidavit, and only documents pertaining to Doe 107 will be held until then, court officials told Fox News Digital.
Although many of the Does were not publicly named in the Giuffre v. Maxwell lawsuit, Preska ruled that their identities should be revealed because they have “widely publicized” ties to Epstein and some have been named as co-defendants in lawsuits against the disgraced financier.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell attend de Grisogono Sponsors The 2005 Wall Street Concert Series Benefitting Wall Street Rising, with a Performance by Rod Stewart at Cipriani Wall Street on March 15, 2005 in New York City. (Photo by Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
The list is expected to include figures like the British Prince Andrew, whom Giuffre also sued, a top former aide to former President Bill Clinton and, according to ABC News, Clinton himself.
Some of the Does, whom the judge described as minor victims who have never spoken publicly about the case, will not be identified. Neither will a person who members of the media incorrectly labeled an Epstein accomplice.
Epstein-related lawsuits go beyond the scope of Giuffre’s allegations against Maxwell and Prince Andrew. The government of the U.S. Virgin Islands sued JPMorgan Chase, claiming the bank aided Epstein’s crimes.
DOZENS OF GHISLAINE MAXWELL FILES UNSEALED BY FEDERAL COURT IN SEX TRAFFICKING CASE
Virginia Roberts Giuffre holds a photo of herself as a teen, when she says she was abused by Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Prince Andrew, among others. (Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
That lawsuit revealed connections between Epstein and Barclays CEO Jes Staley, a former JPMorgan banker who resigned from his position in 2021.
It also alleged that the bank knew about Epstein’s ties to French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, who, like Epstein, died in jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Another lawsuit alleged that billionaire Leon Black, who resigned as CEO from Apollo Global Management in 2021, assaulted a 16-year-old with autism at Epstein’s New York City mansion.
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Maxwell and Giuffre reached a settlement in 2017, but the names have remained secret for years. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison for sex trafficking.
Epstein controversially died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting his own sex trafficking trial. His death was ruled a suicide.
Giuffre also settled her lawsuit with Andrew, who has denied allegations that Epstein trafficked her when she was under 18 to have sex with him.
