Documents connected to Jeffrey Epstein, lawsuit unsealed

Previously sealed court documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sex crimes started to be unsealed Wednesday.

New York Judge Loretta Preska last month ordered the release of the names of approximately 150 people who were included in previously redacted parts of a settled civil suit against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s associate and former girlfriend. The names from the suit, filed by one of Epstein’s victims, were originally withheld on the grounds of privacy

About 40 documents from the case against Maxwell were unsealed Wednesday, The Associated Press noted.

“The filing of these documents ordered unsealed will be done on a rolling basis until completed,” a court order dated Wednesday said.

Preska previously ruled that the documents could begin being made public on Jan. 1. Two “Does” requested that their names remain under seal, court documents show.

Several of the people named in the newly unsealed documents had already made their names and stories public, NewsNation reported. Additionally, the names of victims who were children when they were subject to the abuse and who have requested to remain anonymous will not be made public, the AP noted.

The initial release adds to swirling speculation about who could be named as a possible “co-conspirator” of Epstein’s.

Attorney Alan Dershowitz, who previously represented Epstein, earlier this week pushed for the release of the names, claiming that he has “done nothing wrong.”

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while being held in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence on similar charges.

NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.