Court documents unsealed on Wednesday from a lawsuit of Jeffrey Epstein fixer Ghislaine Maxwell have listed prominent public figures, including former President Donald Trump, who once referred to Epstein as a "terrific guy."
On Wednesday, a U.S. District Court in New York published the names of alleged associates of the sex offender, after Judge Loretta Preska said last month that there was no legal justification for continuing to withhold the names.
Included on that list were two former presidents: Trump and Bill Clinton. A Trump spokesperson said the release "thoroughly debunked" any claims regarding his relationship with Epstein, while Clinton reiterated that he had cut ties with Epstein before any allegations about him came to light.
The highly anticipated documents did not insinuate any wrongdoing on the part of those named, whose lawyers were able to view the files before they were unsealed and lodge objections, if any.
However, among the online commentary surrounding the documents' release, was an unrelated set of papers that went into graphic detail about an alleged sexual assault naming Trump.
The Claim
A post on X, formerly Twitter, by user @CarmenGranddau1, posted on January 4, 2024, said: "How Trump and Epstein savagely raped a 13 year old girl together."
The post included a screengrab of a court document that includes graphic detail alleging rape and sexual assault by Trump and Epstein.
The Facts
Although the court documents are genuine, they are not from the release of documents unsealed this week and, crucially, are from a dismissed legal filing that was dropped more than seven years ago.
For context, a lawsuit was filed against Trump in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election and included claims that Trump raped a woman when she was 13 years old in 1994. At the time, Trump's lawyer, Alan Garten, responded to the lawsuit by saying that the allegations were "categorically untrue."
The anonymous plaintiff—identified only as "Katie Johnson" in an initial legal filing that was dismissed in California, and "Jane Doe" in two subsequent legal filings in New York—said that she was raped by Trump during a party hosted by the now-deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein at his New York City apartment.
The filing posted on X was from the initial filing that was dismissed in California.
In the third and final lawsuit, filed in September 2016, Doe alleged she had numerous sexual encounters with Trump and Epstein at the latter's parties and said she was also raped by Epstein.
However, only a few months later, the matter was dropped. In November 2016, attorney Lisa Bloom, who represented Jane Doe, announced that a press conference where Doe was due to speak had to be canceled. Two days later, Doe's lead attorney, Thomas Meager, filed to dismiss the case. Jane Doe has not been heard from since.
Crucially, not only was the case dropped, but it has nothing to do with the court documents unsealed this week.
The documents on Wednesday night revealed the names of several prominent celebrities and politicians, including Trump. However, he was scarcely mentioned and there was no reference to any illicit behavior on his part.
Trump's name is mentioned in a deposition by Johanna Sjöberg, who is alleged to have been recruited by Maxwell to perform massages and sexual acts for Epstein. She claimed that she traveled from Florida to Atlantic City with Epstein and went to one of Trump's casinos.
"Jeffrey said, 'Great, we'll call up Trump and we'll go to'—I don't recall the name of the casino, but—'we'll go to the casino,'" Sjöberg said, according to her testimony.
While in Atlantic City, they visited one of Trump's casinos, according to Sjöberg, who said Giuffre was not allowed in because she was underage. Later, when asked if she ever massaged Trump, Sjoberg twice responded that she never had.
Newsweek has reached out to a media representative for Trump for comment.
The hundreds of pages of documents unsealed this week contain emails and transcripts of depositions pertaining to the now-settled case brought by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleged that Epstein sexually abused her as a minor. She also alleged that Maxwell, his girlfriend, aided in the abuse.
Wednesday's release is only the first of what's expected to be several rounds of disclosed documents and names included in the filings, but inclusion doesn't equate to accusations of any unlawful behavior.
Epstein, who was indicted in 2019 on charges of operating a sex trafficking ring involving underage girls, was found dead in his jail cell while awaiting trial. Maxwell was found guilty in 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The Ruling
False.
The court papers, while authentic, come from a legal filing dismissed in 2016. A subsequent lawsuit from the same anonymous claimant was dropped in 2016. The claimant has not been heard from since. Trump's lawyers at the time said the allegations made in the lawsuit were "categorically untrue."
They have nothing to do with Wednesday's unsealed court documents, which mentions Trump but contains no allegations of wrongdoing.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
