A vocal Jeffrey Epstein accuser is urging judges to unseal his court records

Epstein Accuser Urges Courts to Unseal Sex Trafficking Records Under New Law

One of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s most prominent accusers has called on federal judges to approve the Justice Department’s request to unseal records from their sex trafficking cases, emphasizing that “only transparency is likely to lead to justice.”

Annie Farmer, through her attorney Sigrid S. McCawley, made the appeal on Wednesday as Manhattan federal judges consider whether to make the records public under recently enacted legislation. The judges had requested input from victims before ruling on the Justice Department’s application to open its files on the late financier and his accomplice.

Farmer and other survivors advocated for the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law last month. The legislation requires the Justice Department, FBI, and federal prosecutors to release by December 19 extensive materials gathered during investigations into Epstein’s activities.

Last week, the Justice Department asked Judges Richard M. Berman and Paul A. Engelmayer to lift secrecy orders on a wide range of documents, including grand jury transcripts from Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking case and search warrants, financial records, and victim interview notes from Maxwell’s 2021 case.

“Nothing in these proceedings should stand in the way of their victory or provide a backdoor avenue to continue to cover up history’s most notorious sex-trafficking operation,” McCawley wrote in her letter to the judges.

The attorney expressed criticism of the government for failing to prosecute other individuals in Epstein and Maxwell’s network. She requested that the judges ensure their orders don’t prevent the Justice Department from releasing additional Epstein-related materials, adding that Farmer “is wary” that any denial could become “a pretext or excuse” to withhold information.

Epstein, who maintained connections with celebrities, politicians, billionaires, and academic figures, killed himself in jail in August 2019, approximately one month after his arrest. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking for recruiting underage victims for Epstein and participating in some of the abuse. She is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.

Maxwell’s attorney, David Markus, stated in a Wednesday court filing that she is preparing a habeas petition to challenge her conviction. While Maxwell “does not take a position” on unsealing the records following the transparency act’s passage, Markus argued that doing so “would create undue prejudice so severe that it would foreclose the possibility of a fair retrial” if her habeas petition succeeds. He maintained that the records “contain untested and unproven allegations.”

Judge Berman, who presided over Epstein’s case, has ordered victims and Epstein’s estate to respond to the Justice Department’s request by Wednesday. The government has until December 8 to reply to these submissions, with Berman committing to resolve the motion promptly.

Similarly, Judge Engelmayer, who is considering the release of Maxwell’s case records, gave interested parties until Wednesday to respond, with the government’s reply due by December 8. Engelmayer moved up his original deadline to match Berman’s timeline, enabling “an earlier decision on this motion.”

Lawyers representing Epstein’s estate informed Judge Berman on Wednesday that they take no position on the Justice Department’s request. They noted the government had committed to making appropriate redactions of victims’ personal identifying information.

The call for appropriate protections for victims has been emphasized throughout this process. Last week, attorney Brad Edwards, who represents some victims, criticized the House Oversight Committee for failing to redact victims’ names from tens of thousands of pages of Epstein-related documents released in recent months.

Edwards stressed that transparency “CANNOT come at the expense of the privacy, safety, and protection of sexual abuse and sex trafficking victims, especially these survivors who have already suffered repeatedly.”

The court’s decisions in the coming days will determine how much information about one of the most notorious sex trafficking operations in recent history will be made available to the public, while balancing the need to protect victims’ identities and privacy.