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Several documents discussed the alleged activities of Andrew, who was sued by Virginia Giuffre and accused of abusing her more than two decades ago when she was 17 years old.
Andrew denied Giuffre's accusations, but settled her case for £12 million ($22 million) in 2022.
Among what court documents revealed was that Epstein invoked his constitutional right not to incriminate himself about 600 times in testimony in a lawsuit filed by Giuffre.
Epstein's refusal to answer questions in Giuffre's lawsuit against his longtime partner Maxwell was revealed in a filing filed in Manhattan federal court on Friday, as part of a trove of documents unsealed this month from the civil defamation case, which was settled in 2017.
The Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution gives people the right not to incriminate themselves.
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In a September 2016 filing, Giuffre's lawyers said that Epstein routinely answered “the fifth” in his deposition that month to about 500 substantive questions they asked, and 100 substantive questions asked by Maxwell's lawyers.
Giuffre's lawyers said Epstein's refusal to answer extended to questions that posed no real risk of incriminating him, including whether he knew Maxwell. Epstein had pleaded guilty in open court to prostitution charges in 2008 and was healthy enough to testify.
It also included at least three questions related to Epstein's relationship with former US President Bill Clinton.
Epstein's lawyers said in a subsequent document, also released Friday, that their client would have invoked the Fifth Amendment if asked to testify at trial.
They cited, among other reasons, the “burdens” he would face, and the expected “media circus” resulting from Mr. Epstein’s personal appearance.
Epstein committed suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 at the age of 66 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Several other people accused of aiding in his sexual abuse also cited their rights against self-incrimination in various lawsuits related to him, the files unsealed Friday show.
More than 180 documents including depositions, legal briefs and email chains from Giuffre's lawsuit have been released since Wednesday, under an order last month from US District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan, who oversaw the case.
The documents name several of Epstein's victims, who were paid to perform massages on him and others in exchange for money.
Other names include people who worked with him, a few celebrities and politicians associated with him.
In addition to Clinton, prominent figures mentioned in the documents include actor Kevin Spacey, magician David Copperfield, and business executive Leslie Wexner. None of them are accused in the documents of wrongdoing.
Maxwell is appealing against her December 2021 conviction and 20-year prison sentence for aiding in Epstein's sexual assaults. The federal appeals court in Manhattan may review her case next March.
Reuters
