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Judge Orders Redaction Of Epstein Island Images After Court Accidentally Releases Them

Photo of Martin Walsh Martin WalshJanuary 9, 2024
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A federal judge ordered the removal of previously released photos of the notorious Caribbean island where the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein lived with his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell as well as other young women and girls.

Following their disclosure in an unsealed court document on Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Preska of the Southern District of New York directed the redaction of several images taken at Epstein’s Little St. James Island.

“The Clerk of the Court is directed to strike docket entry 1332-7 in the above-captioned case because it contains inadvertently disclosed images that should have been redacted. Counsel shall re-file the stricken document as soon as is practicable,” Preska said in the order.

According to the New York Post, allegations leveled against Epstein by Sarah Ransome included these photos taken on the island in 2006.

“They were really naughty. You know, they took girls from very underprivileged families. They gave them accommodation, they gave them food, gave them money for transportation, you know, private planes, etc, etc.,” Ransome said in a deposition, according to the court filings reported by the Post.

“You know, all the girls kind of reported to Ghislaine. Ghislaine was like the mama bear, if you know what I mean. She called the shots; we had to listen to Ghislaine,” Ransome added in the documents, the NYP reported. “And Ghislaine was Jeffrey’s right-hand woman, so, you know, whatever Jeffrey wanted went through Ghislaine and then filtered through.”

This document was one of many that were made public on Monday as part of the defamation case that Virginia Giuffre, who accused Epstein of wrongdoing, filed against Maxwell. In December, Judge Preska issued an order that, starting on Wednesday, started releasing the court documents.

Giuffre, an Epstein victim, and Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex trafficker and the disgraced financier’s longtime girlfriend and madam, had the papers sealed in a 2015 lawsuit, Fox News noted.

According to Giuffre’s legal team, the images “unequivocally” prove that Maxwell was on Epstein’s island when she deposed under oath that she was “hardly around.”

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“Ms. Ransome’s testimony proves that what little Defendant did say during her deposition was far from the truth,” Giuffre’s lawyers wrote.

It was in 2017 when Maxwell and Giuffre settled their lawsuit. After that, according to the new documents, Maxwell’s attorneys asked the court to order Giuffre’s side to return secret documents that had been handed over during discovery.

According to Ransome, the term “massage” was a code word for sex within Epstein’s circle, and the numerous girls he hired as masseuses were victims of human trafficking.

“That’s like a key word for sex,” she said, according to a transcript of her deposition. “So as soon as you stop having sex with Jeffrey and his friends and his girls, you’re out, because otherwise there’s no reason for you to be associated with Jeffrey, because you’re just there to have sex with him…”

Those on Maxwell’s side asserted that the accusers had lied to her to get a “lottery ticket” from the lawsuit.

According to Ransome, who in 2022 described her time with Epstein to the New York Post as a “dungeon of sexual hell,” Maxwell would allegedly bully females who refused to conform to Epstein’s sexual demands, and the traffickers failed to honor their commitment to fund her education at New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology.

John and Jane Doe were each given two weeks to appeal after U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska unsealed the documents in December. Last week, attorneys representing Giuffre released 191 of the anticipated 240 files; on Monday morning, they released an additional 17.

Below are some of the images that are featured in the Fox News story:

Starting on Wednesday, Giuffre’s legal team began unsealing documents in batches of dozens.

Bill Clinton, meanwhile, was spotted in a small Mexican town called San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, just after the Epstein files were released. Tourists could see him strolling through the town’s main square.

Mauricio Trejo Pureco, mayor of San Miguel de Allende, posted a photo of Clinton outside the San Miguel Arcángel parish on social media. The mayor welcomed Clinton to the town.

Epstein was the subject of a long-running lawsuit, and late Wednesday, the court released dozens of documents about the case that had been sealed.

The judge explained in a December letter that she was releasing the records because many of the details contained within are already known to the public.

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A large portion of the first 40 documents—out of an anticipated 250—mention individuals whose identities were previously known, such as prominent friends of Epstein’s and victims who have made public statements.

Though most of the mainstream media have spent time since the document release focusing on Trump rather than Clinton, it seems like the sole mention of the 45th president throughout the papers exonerates him of any wrongdoing.

To begin, the documents do not support the idea that Trump ever paid a visit to Epstein’s house or island. The witness also denies ever giving a “massage” to Trump:

For various reasons, some names will remain sealed. These include the names of some of Epstein’s victims who were under the age of 18 and at least one person whose identity the judge has hidden.

The judge will also have to decide whether or not to reveal the identities of the two Does who have asked to remain anonymous in the case.

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Photo of Martin Walsh Martin WalshJanuary 9, 2024