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(NewsNation) — New charges are unlikely to surface against public figures named in soon-to-be unsealed documents about Jeffrey Epstein, but the records could tarnish reputations, an expert told NewsNation.
Former President Bill Clinton is believed to be one of the people named in the redacted filings, which, could be released later this week. The documents come from a settled civil lawsuit Virginia Giuffre filed against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell in 2015.
Giuffre alleges that Epstein and Maxwell pressured her as a teenager into sexual encounters with other powerful men, including Prince Andrew. Those men denied the allegations and Giuffre later settled a lawsuit against the royal family member out of court.
People whose names are expected to surface this week aren’t likely to face prosecution, criminal defense attorney Janet Johnson told NewsNation.
“These names were actually kept secret because the judge found that because they did not do anything wrong, here wasn’t any reason at that point to release them and embarrass them,” Johnson said.
Reports, for example, have said Clinton is named about 50 times. Johnson noted that’s partly because Maxwell wanted Clinton to give a deposition in her case. She took the matter to court and lost, Johnson said.
“This isn’t just going to be a list of names,” she said. “It’s going to be a dump of hundreds and hundreds of pages, including deposition transcripts.”
Still, those who continued to associate with Epstein after he was accused of sexual abuse could face public backlash.
“Once he was a known sex offender, people who ignored it should not have done so and I think that there will be an outcry about that,” Johnson said.
NewsNation digital reporter Katie Smith contributed to this report.