A New York judge is poised to release nearly 200 names linked to the vast child sex trafficking ring run by pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and his long-time fixer Ghislaine Maxwell.
The release of new court documents, which may come as early as Tuesday, follows the passing of a deadline for filing objections at midnight Monday. The documents will reportedly reveal new details about high-profile political leaders and celebrities’ dealings with the enigmatic pervert.
The reveal steams from a 2015 defamation lawsuit filed by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre against Maxwell.
Speculation began mounting in December about who might be named among the new records, with media reports indicating that former President Bill Clinton may be named as many as 50 times throughout the documents.
But the records may also provide new details on one of Maine’s most successful and well-respected political figures with known ties to Epstein: former Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell.
Mitchell, who served under Clinton from 1995 to 2001 as the U.S. Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, is known internationally as the architect of the Good Friday Agreement, which brought an end to the 30-year violent conflict known as The Troubles.
But his impeccable reputation — as well as his ties to Clinton and Epstein — were called into question in 2019, when Giuffre testified in a sworn deposition that Mitchell was among the men she was ordered to have sex with by Maxwell.
“I want you to tell me a single time that you recall Ghislaine Maxwell using the words to you and directing you to go have sex with another person –,” an attorney asked Giuffre, according to the transcript.
“They instructed me to go to George Mitchell,” Giuffre replied, naming former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and model Jean Luc Brunel in the same answer.
Following the release of Giuffre’s testimony, which had been sealed since 2016, Mitchell strongly denied the accusations. The democrat also denied having ever witnessed Epstein engage in any inappropriate behavior with underage girls and claimed to have learned about his deplorable behavior from media reports.
“The allegation contained in the released documents is false,” Mitchell said in a statement. “I have never met, spoken with or had any contact with Ms. Giuffre.”
“In my contacts with Mr. Epstein I never observed or suspected any inappropriate conduct with underage girls,” he said. “I only learned of his actions when they were reported in the media related to his prosecution in Florida. We have had no further contact.”
That Mitchell, like Clinton, had a relationship with Epstein going back to the 1990s is beyond dispute.
In 2003, Vanity Fair penned a glowing profile of the mysterious centimillionaire, noting the cadre of famous and influential people in his orbit, including Mitchell.
“He has supported some philanthropic projects of mine and organized a fund-raiser for me once,” Mitchell told the magazine. “I would certainly call him a friend and a supporter.”
Epstein’s “little black book,” which contains phone numbers for hundreds of his friends and associates, listed more than ten phone numbers for Mitchell.
In 2021, Epstein’s former pilot named Mitchell as one of the powerful men known to fly frequently on the “Lolita Express,” the infamous jumbo jet that ferried Epstein’s associates to and from his private island – something Mitchell has not publicly denied.
Flight logs from Epstein’s jet list several flights Mitchell took with Epstein and Maxwell aboard, including one trip with an unnamed female listed on the log.
Mitchell, a graduate of Bowdoin College, isn’t the only link between the Pine Tree State and Epstein — or between his alma mater and the late sex criminal.
Last year, then-Bowdoin College President Clayton Rose had to walk back praise of a longtime college trustee, James “Jes” Staley, after details about his cozy relationship with Epstein emerged.
According to reports in British media, Staley and Epstein had a close relationship, exchanging more than 1,200 emails over four-year period, including emails that appear to reference sexual exploits and trips to Epstein’s private island.
Rose has subsequently stepped down, and Staley is no longer a trustee at the college. The college has also denied ever soliciting or receiving any money from Epstein, who was a prolific supporter of other New England colleges and universities.
The defamation lawsuit that has led to the expected disclosure of new documents in 2024 also paved the way for the federal sex trafficking case against Maxwell, culminating in her conviction on five of six charges and a 20-year prison sentence in December 2021.
The case began with Giuffre’s claim against Maxwell, daughter of the late British media mogul Robert Maxwell. In 2016, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet denied Maxwell’s motion to dismiss the case, acknowledging Giuffre as a victim of sustained underage sexual abuse from 1999 to 2002.
Although the parties settled in 2017, the litigation unearthed a trove of names and subsequent civil lawsuits, including Giuffre’s action against Britain’s Prince Andrew, which was settled for a reported $12 million without admission of liability.
Prince Andrew has consistently denied any misconduct.
Despite the forthcoming release of names from the defamation suit, expectations of new criminal charges are limited, in part because Epstein is no longer alive.
Epstein died on Aug. 10, 2019 while in police custody in New York.
Government officials have asserted the cause of death was suicide.
