In a recent ruling, a federal judge in New York determined that the identities of two women linked to Jeffrey Epstein as potential co-conspirators will remain confidential. The decision aims to protect their safety and privacy amid ongoing threats, as stated by Judge Richard M. Berman.
This ruling followed a request from NBC News to unseal the names, which was opposed by both the women’s legal representatives and the U.S. Justice Department. In his written decision, Judge Berman emphasized that publicizing the identities could jeopardize the individuals’ safety.
Attorney Alexander Ziccardi, representing NBC News, argued that the First Amendment provides a “presumptive right of access” to the information redacted in a letter from July 2019. This correspondence was part of the prosecution’s case against Epstein when they opposed his bail, referencing the two unnamed individuals in their arguments.
In the 2019 letter, prosecution acknowledged that both women had been publicly connected to Epstein’s alleged sexual misconduct spanning over two decades. Epstein had previously secured a nonprosecution agreement with federal authorities in Florida in 2007, which offered protection to both women.
The letter pointed out that Epstein paid one of the women $100,000 and the other $250,000 in late 2018, coinciding with renewed media scrutiny on his past actions. Federal authorities in New York subsequently arrested Epstein on sex trafficking charges, asserting that they were not bound by the prior nonprosecution agreement.
According to the 2019 indictment, the woman who received $250,000 was identified as one of Epstein’s employees involved in facilitating the trafficking of minors. The indictment noted that she, along with two others, assisted in organizing encounters for Epstein with victims at his residences in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida.
However, both women’s attorneys voiced strong opposition to disclosing their names. Berman highlighted claims from the lawyer of the woman who received $100,000, asserting that his client had endured death threats due to widespread misinformation. An FBI investigation corroborated the severity of these threats.
Another attorney representing the second woman emphasized that both individuals were “severely victimized by Jeffrey Epstein,” arguing that they deserved the same protections afforded to other victims.
Jeffrey Epstein was facing trial in New York before his death in a federal jail in August 2019, which was ruled a suicide. His former associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021 and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
At this time, requests for comments directed to NBC News and Ziccardi have not received a response, and a spokesperson for the prosecution declined to provide comments regarding the ruling.
