Content Warning: Sexual violence, child sexual abuse
Over the weekend, three million of the Epstein files were released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ).
If printed as A4 pages and stacked, they would be as tall as the Eiffel Tower.
Multiple high-profile Australian figures are named in the files, including former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, mining magnate Clive Palmer, and Katherine Keating, daughter of former PM Paul Keating.
Someone being named in the files is not a suggestion of wrongdoing, and many allegations are unverified.
Epstein
Jeffrey Epstein was an American hedge fund manager and convicted sex offender.
In 2008, he served 13 months in jail after pleading guilty to charges related to sex-trafficking minors in a controversial deal.
In 2019, police arrested him again on new federal sex trafficking charges. Epstein was denied bail and died by suicide in his jail cell while awaiting trial.
Epstein was friends with high-profile politicians, celebrities, and the wealthy, some of whom have also been accused of engaging in sexual crimes.
Context
During his presidential campaign, Trump vowed that if elected, he would release the Epstein Files: all documents from past DoJ investigations into the late convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
In November, U.S. Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, forcing the release of the files.
The DoJ was required to publish all files by 19 December. This did not happen.
The names and identities of victims have been removed from the files to protect them. The DoJ said this process caused the file release to be delayed.
The collection of documents shared last week will likely be the last major release of the Epstein files, with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche telling ABC News (U.S.) that “this review is over.”
The Office of the Deputy Attorney General also said it has produced, with few exceptions, “all documents, files, records, videos and images related to the investigations and prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell”.
The DOJ will now prepare a final report to Congress, detailing its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act and justifying any redactions.
Kevin Rudd
Rudd was referenced multiple times in the released documents, which showed Epstein had tried to organise meetings with him.
One such scheduled meeting included a “vegetarian lunch” to be attended by Epstein in June 2014.
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Epstein emailed his assistant Lesley Groff to note that Rudd had been added to the invitation.
In another exchange with Epstein from 2016, former Norwegian PM Thorbjørn Jagland referred to Rudd as “a friend of both of us”.
The documents do not show any direct contact between Rudd and Epstein.
The former PM’s office said Rudd has “no reason to believe that he ever met with Jeffrey Epstein at any time.”
Clive Palmer
Palmer is mentioned in an text conversation between Epstein and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.
In the exchange, Bannon claims he convinced Palmer to bankroll an advertising campaign during the 2019 Australian federal election.
On Sunday, a spokesperson for Palmer told the ABC the mining magnate “has never spoken to Bannon”.
Katherine Keating
The release shows Katherine Keating, the daughter of former PM Paul Keating, contacted Epstein and his associates hundreds of times between 2010 and 2013. Epstein had already been convicted of child sex offences.
Keating told Nine newspapers her connection with Epstein reflected her interest in meeting “reputable and major leaders of American business.” Emails show Epstein mentoring Keating as she tried to build a TV career.
In 2011, Keating suggested her younger sister Alexandra come to a dinner party with film director Woody Allen at Epstein’s New York home, after Epstein suggested Allen “likes pretty women.”
Allen’s adopted daughter Dylan Farrow has accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was seven. Allen denies the allegation, and authorities chose not to prosecute him.
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