What are the new Jeffrey Epstein court documents about - and why are they being released now

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What are the new Jeffrey Epstein court documents about - and why are they being released now

Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton are among those who have been named as associates of Jeffrey Epstein in court papers unsealed by a US court.

In December, New York district judge Loretta Preska ruled the papers should no longer remain secret as many of the individuals mentioned have already given media interviews.

Some of the 250 documents have now been released, with around 170 names expected in total.

Read more:
Names mentioned in the unsealed documents so far

Although former US president BiIll Clinton and Prince Andrew have already been linked to Epstein, the tranche of hundreds of files reveal new allegations about their dealings with the late paedophile.

Celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Bruce Willis are also mentioned, but none have been accused of any wrongdoing.

The documents mainly consist of previously unseen legal arguments from the defamation case Virginia Giuffre, Epstein's main accuser, made against his former lover Ghislaine Maxwell in 2015.

Files were sealed or heavily redacted to protect the identities of "alleged victims, people not accused of wrongdoing…and absent third parties" that could have been implicated in the case.

Here we look at what you need to know.

Which case is it?

The documents were all part of a 2015 civil lawsuit lodged by Virginia Giuffre, who says she was one of Epstein's principal victims of underage sex trafficking.

She sued Ghislaine Maxwell, 62, for defamation after her spokesperson issued a statement describing Ms Giuffre's allegations against her and Epstein as "obvious lies".

At the time Maxwell tried to have the case thrown out but district court judge Robert Sweet rejected her motion to dismiss it.

He ruled Ms Giuffre was the victim of "sustained underage sexual abuse between 1999 and 2002".

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