Hundreds of court files from Ghislaine Maxwell libel case to be published
Names of over 170 associates of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein could be made public after court ruling
A US JJUDGE has ruled that documents relating to more than 170 people who were either associates, friends or victims of disgraced financier Epstein should be made public.
The documents are part of a 2015 US defamation case by Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite who supplied Epstein with underage girls.
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ms Giuffre said: “Finally we are hearing members of the US government senators about the need for transparency and a call to arms for accountability!!
“There’s going to be a lot of nervous ppl over Christmas and New Years, 170 to be exact, who’s on the naughty list?"
“This (would not) be possible without the Honourable Judge Preska.”
The individuals who are set to be named in the documents will have 14 days to appeal against the judge’s decision – meaning they are likely to be released in early January.
Ms Giuffre settled her civil claim against Maxwell, but representatives of the media have since argued documents that were sealed as part of the case should be made public.
US Judge Loretta Preska ordered some individuals should be named because they had already given interviews to the media.
Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.
The death was ruled a suicide.
Maxwell has been imprisoned since July 2020, despite numerous attempts from her defence counsel to have her released on bail.
She was sentenced to 20 years in prison at the federal court in the Southern District of New York in June last year.
The socialite indicated her desire to appeal shortly after her conviction, with her lawyers claiming victims had “faded, distorted and motivated memories”.
Her appeal is currently scheduled to be heard in November next year.