Fighting for transparency in Epstein case
At long last, the public this month learned more about the sprawling sex network of Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, when a court file in a now-settled case involving the rich and powerful was finally unsealed.
The records — containing perhaps 150 names of associates, some of whom may have looked the other way, plus details from a deposition — revealed more about the sordid world of sexual abuse of underage girls and a justice system gone horribly awry.
Many influential people were in Epstein’s orbit, but so far only he and Maxwell have been prosecuted. This release of documents may shed more light on those who participated in his sex-trafficking network. If more people are culpable, we want to see them held accountable, even at this late date.
If that happens, it would be thanks to the efforts of journalists at the Miami Herald and its parent company, McClatchy. For more than six years, they fought to shine a light on an egregious failure of our justice system — a secret plea deal struck in Miami federal court in 2007. The deal allowed a Palm Beach sex offender to escape justice for his crimes against scores of girls and enabled him to victimize even more.
And it was more than six years of dogged, investigative journalism that brought these records and the story itself into the public eye.
Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie Brown worked relentlessly to expose the full truth of what had happened, interviewing victims and making numerous public records requests. Eventually, the Herald uncovered a story of corruption and conspiracy. Brown’s Perversion of Justice project, published in a post#MeToo America, led to Epstein being charged. He committed suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019 before standing trial.
For Brown and the Miami Herald, the case didn’t end there. They continued pursuing records requests to force transparency from the courts regarding Epstein’s crimes and the failures that allowed him to evade justice for so long.
One focus became a 2015 defamation lawsuit brought by a victim against Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for her part in the sex-trafficking ring. The lawsuit was settled in 2017.
Rumors have been swirling for years that it revealed up to 150 “John Does” — among them, influential and wellknown men who allegedly accepted an invitation from Epstein to travel on his jet and visit his mansions in Palm Beach and the Virgin Islands, where they were introduced to the underage girls. Accountability, if appropriate, should extend beyond the two people at the top of this organization.
At the trial’s conclusion, though, the court records were sealed by a New York judge. Why?
“When rich and influential people get involved in huge ugly messes like the Jeffrey Epstein case, they want to keep it out of the public domain,” said Casey Frank, the Herald’s investigative editor. “We found instances of that throughout the reporting of Perversion of Justice. Including this libel suit, which was settled and then sealed.”
Frank said he and Brown wondered: “Why was it sealed? Is that how the courts are supposed to work? Aren’t courts supposed to be open for public inspection?”
The Herald decided to challenge the closure — not knowing how much it would cost, not knowing how long it would take. The newspaper hired attorneys to get the records unsealed.
Now, years later, the news organization has prevailed. Records are still being analyzed by reporters at the Herald and other media outlets. But whatever they find, unsealing the documents isn’t just about the Epstein case, as important as that is. Nor is it solely about making sure this kind of misuse of influence and secrecy in the court system is stopped in its tracks, another incredibly important goal.
There’s something else at stake here, that the Herald and McClatchy fought for: the importance of keeping public records public.
The public’s right to know what the government is up to is under assault these days like never before. The release of these records demonstrates the power of dogged reporting done in the service of truth and in the public interest.