Epstein affair | Victims denounce the publication of their identity

(Washington) Their names revealed, nude photos published. Around a hundred victims in the Epstein affair want to close access to the American government site which publishes the file, after seeing their lives “turned upside down”, according to their lawyers.

The new wave of publications linked to the sprawling Epstein case on Friday once again brought to light a mass of information on the activities of the sex criminal and the extent of his address book.

But the victims denounce the way in which the documents were published, without precaution for their private lives. “I understand your concern and the urgency of the problems presented,” wrote New York judge Richard Berman to the lawyers, in a document seen by AFP.

The magistrate invites them to come with their clients to the hearing on Wednesday morning. “For the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, every hour counts,” wrote the lawyers, Brittany Henderson and Brad Edwards, quoted in the New York Times. “The damage continues and is irreversible.”

Sunday, the New York Times had already reported the publication of around forty photos of naked young women, possibly teenagers, from a “personal collection”.

The affair, which has poisoned American political life for years, continues to impact high-ranking personalities all over the world.

On Tuesday, the pressure finally convinced Bill and Hillary Clinton to testify before a parliamentary commission of inquiry on the subject; the commission will take place at the end of February. “The former president and the former secretary of state will be there. They are eager to create a precedent that applies to everyone,” Angel Urena, spokesperson for the former Democratic president, said on X on Monday.

Republican elected officials demanded to hear about the links between Bill Clinton and the sex criminal. And before this press release, the House Rules Committee was preparing to launch a process to initiate proceedings against the former Democratic president (1993-2001), and the former head of American diplomacy (2009-2013).

If formally indicted, which would be initiated by the Justice Department, Bill and Hillary Clinton would face up to 12 months in prison. They denounce purely political motivations.

Mandelson in underwear

The couple is weakened by the old friendship between the ex-president and Jeffrey Epstein. A figure of the New York jet set in the 1990s and 2000s, the financier was accused of having sexually exploited more than a thousand young women, including minors.

He was found hanged in his New York cell in 2019, before his trial for sex crimes. His death has fueled countless conspiracy theories that he was murdered to protect high-profile figures.

Bill Clinton, who traveled several times aboard his private jet and was photographed numerous times in his company, claimed in 2019 that he had not spoken to him for more than a decade.

He has also always denied having any knowledge of his crimes and is not worried by the justice system. But the pressure from Congress was becoming unmanageable.

“No one, whether a former president or an ordinary citizen, can deliberately disregard a subpoena properly issued by Congress without consequences,” insisted Republican elected official James Comer, head of the commission of inquiry.

During his 2024 campaign, Donald Trump said he wanted to publish the entire Epstein file. But he has been reluctant to do so since his return to power and has been accused – even among his supporters – of a lack of transparency.

On Friday, the Justice Department said it was releasing additional documents to comply with a law enacted last November. And as with each new salvo, new names came to light.

The mere mention of an individual does not a priori imply any wrongdoing on their part. But the documents made public at the very least show links between the sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein or his entourage, and certain personalities who have often minimized or even denied the existence of such relationships.

In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Keir Starmer considered that former British ambassador Peter Mandelson had “let his country down”, his spokesperson reported Tuesday.

The latest documents made public notably reveal bank statements attesting to transfers by the American financier for his benefit and a photo showing him in his underwear alongside a woman in a bathrobe.