Newly unsealed Jeffrey Epstein documents have described bombshell allegations about sex tapes involving Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and Richard Branson.
In emails sent by Epstein victim Sarah Ransome – sections of which were included as exhibits in one of the filings unsealed on Monday – she said that an unnamed friend “had sexual intercourse with Clinton, Prince Andrew and Richard Branson” and that these encounters had been filmed by Epstein and that she herself had later seen the sex tapes.
The unsealed extracts were included along with a letter sent by attorneys representing Alan Dershowitz in 2017, seeking to undermine Ms Ransome’s credibility.
In a New Yorker article released two years later in 2019, Ms Ransome admitted that “she had invented the tapes to draw attention to Epstein’s behaviour, and to make him believe that she had ‘evidence that would come out if he harmed me’”.
Ms Ransome, who delivered a victim impact statement at Ghislaine Maxwell’s sentencing for sex-trafficking charges, said in one of the newly released emails that the friend had sent her the explicit footage.
She said that the footage does “clearly identify” the faces of the men.
“Thank God she managed to get ahold of some footage of the filmed sex tapes, which clearly identify the faces of Clinton, Prince Andrew and Branson having sexual intercourse with her,” she said.
“Frustratingly enough, Epstein was not seen in any of the footage but he was clever like that!”
Ms Ransome also detailed an alleged sexual relationship between the unnamed friend and the former president Mr Clinton.
Jeffrey Epstein and the former US president Bill Clinton— (Netflix)
She alleged that her friend “had to have sexual intercourse with Clinton in Epstein’s New York Mansion just off Fifth Avenue on numerous occasions”.
In the messages, Ms Ransome said that her friend later came forward to report what happened “with Epstein, Clinton, Branson and Prince Andrew” to the police in 2008 but said that “nothing was done” and “she was made to feel like a dirty whore and a liar”.
A couple of months later, her friend was allegedly “approached by Special Agents Forces Men sent directly by Hilary [sic] Clinton herself, in order to protect her presidential campaign in 2008”, Ms Ransome claimed.
“They heavily intimidated her, ruffled her up (luckily she took photos as evidence) and was then forced to sign a confidentiality agreement which ensures that she can never come forward publicly implicating her husband,” she claimed.
Ms Ransome went on to allege that the friend was given a “substantial” payout directly from the Clinton Foundation “to keep her quiet”.
She alleged that if her friend was to break the agreement to stay quiet, “she is dead”.
The woman also allegedly tried to sue Epstein for damages but was “severely bullied and threatened” by his attorney, Mr Dershowitz – a man who she claimed “she also had sexual relations with and who was also heavily involved in Epstein’s paedophile ring”.
She alleged it was “a complete conspiracy” as Mr Dershowitz had also helped fund Ms Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.
Ms Ransome went on to claim that she had backed up the footage and had sent it to various different locations throughout Europe “with only one other person close to me, knowing where their locations are, just in case anything happens to me before the footage is released”.
The Independent has reached out to representatives for the Clintons, Mr Branson and Prince Andrew for comment.
Epstein victims Elizabeth Stein, left, and Sarah Ransome in 2022— (AP)
On behalf of Mr Branson, a Virgin Group spokesperson pointed to the New Yorker report, saying: “In a New Yorker report published in 2019, Ransome admitted that she had ‘invented’ the tapes. We can confirm that Sarah Ransome’s claims are baseless and unfounded.”
Prince Andrew has previously denied all wrongdoing related to Epstein.
He stepped down from public life and was cast out as a working royal amid the backlash over his friendship with the convicted sex offender. The duke also paid millions of dollars to settle a civil sexual assault lawsuit brought by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, who claimed he sexually assaulted her as a minor.
Mr Clinton’s spokesperson told CNN on 3 January – after his name surfaced in the earlier batches of documents – that it has now “been nearly 20 years since President Clinton last had contact with Epstein” and denied that the former president ever had any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
Elsewhere in the documents released on Monday, Ms Ransome also made accusations against former president and GOP 2024 candidate Donald Trump.
She alleged that another friend “was one of the many girls that had sexual relations with Donald Trump” – including alleged encounters that took place at Epstein’s New York townhouse.
“She confided in me about her casual ‘friendship’ with Donald. Mr Trump definitely seemed to have a thing for her and she told me how he kept going on about how he liked her ‘pert nipples’,” she claimed.
She then described in graphic detail how Mr Trump allegedly caused pain to the victim’s nipples – and claimed she saw the resulting injury first hand.
“I also know she had sexual relations with Trump at Jeffery’s NY mansion on regular occasions as I once met Jen for coffee, just before she was going to meet Trump and Epstein together at his mansion,” she claimed.
Mr Trump is yet to respond to The Independent’s request for comment.
In another email submitted by Mr Dershowitz in the court filing, Ms Ransome wrote that she “will make sure that neither that evil b**** Hillary or that Paedophile Trump gets elected”.
“I will also make sure that everyone on the God damn planet see’s [sic] that footage and photo’s [sic] and will release them to Wiki leaks [sic] by Sunday. I will take down Epstein and his bunch of f*** wit cronies myself!!!!!!!!!! I have also gone to a Russian newspaper,” she allegedly wrote.
In another, Ms Ransome wrote: “My emails have been hacked. I have reached out to the Russians for help and they are coming to my aid. Thank goodness for Anonymous!!!! I will make sure that they all go behind bars. I have already sent everything I need to so, the CIA, hacking my emails etc were too late. I also have numerous devices, with systems that are unhackable and I have film footage all over Europe itching to be released.”
She wrote in another that “Clinton and Trump must pay for what they did to us as must the rest of the men that were involved in their seedy inner circle”.
In another email, Ms Ransome appears to speak of her fears about coming forward with her allegations against Epstein – for fear that “bad things” will happen if she does.
“I would like to retract everything I have said to you and walk away from this,” she writes.
“It’s not worth coming forward and I will never be heard anyhow and only bad things will happen as a consequence of me going public and I know this to be true.
“This will just create pain for my family and I and they have already helped me pick up the pieces once before and I can’t ask them to do that again… I guess one person can’t make a difference.”
Mr Dershowitz’s lawyers wrote in the letter accompanying the emails that they are “a necessary antidote to Ms Ransome’s deposition misstatements because they demonstrate she manifestly lacks credibility”.
Mr Dershowitz and Ms Ransome have also been reached for comment by The Independent.
Mr Dershowitz’s name has cropped up in other court documents unsealed last week in the civil case. He has denied all wrongdoing.
Ms Giuffre previously claimed that she was trafficked by Epstein to Mr Dershowitz for sex. Three years later, in November 2022, Ms Giuffre admitted that she may have made a mistake in identifying Mr Dershowitz as one of her abusers.
None of the individuals Ms Ransome made the allegations against have been charged with any crime in connection to Epstein.
Ms Ransome has spoken out publicly on many occasions about the abuse she suffered at the hands of Epstein and Maxwell.
She claimed that she once tried to flee Epstein’s Caribbean island of Little Saint James – known as “paedophile island” – by swimming off into shark-infested waters after she was raped three times in a single day.
In a deposition – an extract of which was released on Monday – Ms Ransome described Epstein’s sex trafficking ring as a “constant influx of girls” – while Maxwell was his “main right-hand woman”.
“There was a constant influx of girls. There were so many girls. There were girls in Miami,” she claimed.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein— (via Reuters)
“There were guests coming. There were – It’s like, I’m sure if you go into a hooker’s brothel and see how they run their business, I mean, it’s just general conversation about who’s going to have sex with who and, you know – what do you talk about when all do you is have sex every day on rotation? I mean, what is there to talk about?”
The latest dramatic allegations have come to light as documents from a 2017 lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre against Maxwell continue to be unsealed by a New York court.
Ms Giuffre filed the defamation lawsuit against Maxwell in 2015, after she accused her of lying about the years-long abuse she had suffered at the hands of Epstein and some in his inner circle.
The suit was settled in 2017 but was placed under a protective seal – with the identities of those named in the filings kept under lock and key.
The Miami Herald sued for the release of the sealed documents while Maxwell’s legal team sought to block it.
Around 2,000 pages of documents were first unsealed in 2019, with further documents released over the following years.
But, this current trove of documents remained sealed – and the names of hundreds of people associated with the dead paedophile were kept secret, known only as Jane and John Doe.
Then, in a landmark ruling last month, US District Judge Loretta Preska ruled that the trove of documents could be released and the names unsealed in full after 1 January.
While the federal judge ordered the names of several Epstein victims to remain anonymous, she said that there was no legal justification to keep the names of Epstein’s associates redacted as “John and Jane Does”.
This has now paved the way for several famous figures to find themselves tied to the notorious disgraced financier.
Many have previously been connected to Epstein in media reports, lawsuits and Maxwell’s trial testimony, and some of the documents have already been released in part or in full as part of other court cases.
Several more court documents – and names – are expected to be released over the coming days.
An individual being named in the documents does not necessarily mean they are accused of any wrongdoing.
Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019.
Maxwell was convicted of child sex trafficking in 2021 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
