Unsealed documents show again how Jeffrey Epstein leveraged his powerful connections

By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The unsealing of dozens of documents describing financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of teenage girls provide a reminder of how he leveraged connections to the rich, powerful and famous to cover up his crimes. The more than 40 documents released late Wednesday were sprinkled with names familiar to anyone who has followed the scandal closely, including the criminal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and chief recruiter of young, vulnerable females. Among those in Epstein’s orbit before he was exposed as a sexual predator were former Presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, singer Michael Jackson and magician David Copperfield, according to accounts of his victims and other witnesses quoted in the documents. None of them were accused of wrongdoing.