Panic Strikes as New York Judge Orders Public Release of Epstein Island List

A federal judge in New York, Loretta Preska of the Southern District of New York, has issued a ruling to unseal documents containing identifying information about approximately 180 individuals connected to the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The decision pertains to the case that led to Epstein’s incarceration in a New York jail, where he died in 2019. The 51-page order, delivered on Monday, cited previous hearings that established the non-permanent redaction of names.

Judge Preska outlined a 14-day window for affected individuals to appeal the decision. After this period, lawyers are instructed to “confer, prepare the documents for unsealing pursuant to this order, and post the documents on the docket.”

The unsealed documents are anticipated to reveal the identities of Epstein’s associates, victims, investigators, and journalists covering the case. Some names will remain redacted, including those of minor victims and at least one person erroneously identified as a sexual predator by a reporter.

The documents in question are linked to a 2015 lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre, accusing Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell of sexually trafficking her when she was 17. Although the case was settled in 2017, the majority of evidence and depositions remained under seal until activist Mike Cernovich’s lawsuit led to their declassification in July 2019, coinciding with Epstein’s arrest on federal sex trafficking charges.

Epstein, a former financier known for socializing with influential figures and owning a private jet referred to as the ‘Lolita Express,’ was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell on August 10, 2019, officially declared a suicide by hanging.

While Maxwell went into hiding, she was located by the FBI in July 2020 and subsequently arrested. In December 2021, she was convicted on five sex trafficking charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison, five years of probation, and $750,000 in fines.

Despite these developments, the identities of Epstein’s clients and the travel logs of the ‘Lolita Express’ passengers remain under seal. Recent attempts to subpoena this information were blocked by Senator Dick Durbin, the Illinois Democrat in charge of the Senate Judiciary Committee.