A conspiracy theory that the release of a Jeffrey Epstein client list is an attempt to distract voters from Donald Trump's ballot disqualification in Colorado is circling on social media.
On Monday, U.S. Federal Judge Loretta Preska ordered that a list of 175 Epstein associates and victims be unsealed, with the names set to be made public on January 1.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ordered the unsealing of hundreds of documents containing the identities of previously anonymous figures named in Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre's lawsuit against Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking related to Epstein.
On Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump is not an eligible presidential candidate, citing the U.S. Constitution's insurrection clause. The former president was removed from the state's primary ballot as a result of the January 6 riots, with the 77-year-old accused of inciting the attack on the Capitol.
Conspiracy theorists took to social media, claiming the Epstein list is an attempt to distract angered Trump supporters.
"BREAKING NEWS this is why they are going after Trump because they are going to be releasing Epstein's list," said David Tapley on X, formerly Twitter.
@BoxingWhatIfs agreed, writing: "The publishing timing of these stories about Epstein then Trump and the election ballot situation in Colorado seems awful convenient[...]distracting or nah?"
"On the same day we were told over 170 of Jeffrey Epstein's high-profiled associates will be named in 2024, the Colorado Supreme Court decides to disqualify Donald Trump from serving as president under 14th Amendment," wrote @Shadow of Ezra. "Do you believe in coincidences?"
"Yes, I fully support the release of the #EpsteinClientList," said Frank Worley. "But NO I have no faith that it will be used for ANYTHING except to try to associate #Trump with #Epstein. That's it."
However, critics of the former president were excited for the list's release, believing Trump will be included.
"When trump is on #EpsteinClientList I can't wait for MAGA to try and spin that," commented Steezus.
"Trump could have easily demanded the release of the Epstein list when he was POTUS But he doesn't want that, does he," said @stephenstwittor.
Neither side was able to present any evidence that the release of the list of Epstein associates and Trump's barring from the Colorado ballot were in any way connected.
Newsweek has reached out to the former president's team via email for comment and reaction.
Trump was indicted for attempting to overturn the 2020 general election results in August. He has appealed the ruling and denied any wrongdoing. The case in Washington D.C. is one of several ongoing legal battles for the business mogul, with Trump facing 91 charges in four jurisdictions.
The Epstein list reveal is part of the settled civil case that Giuffre filed against Maxwell in 2017.
The British socialite, 61, was sentenced to 20 years in jail in June 2022 for conspiring with the financier to sexually abuse and exploit under-age girls between 1994 and 2004. She has appealed the conviction.
Who Is on the Jeffrey Epstein Associates List?
Epstein—an American financier with connections to the rich and famous—was arrested on sex-trafficking charges in July 2019. Then 66, he had already been convicted in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor, serving 13 months of an 18-month sentence.
"Over the course of many years, Jeffrey Epstein, the defendant, sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes in Manhattan, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, among other locations," the indictment read, with victims reportedly as young as 14 years old.
Epstein was found unresponsive in his Manhattan jail cell on August 10, 2019, with the New York City Medical Examiner ruling his death a suicide. His former girlfriend Maxwell was arrested in June 2020, but had already battled a number of civil suits, beginning with the defamation case filed by Giuffre in 2015.
After Giuffre's case was settled in 2017, the associates' list was kept under a court-ordered seal. The documents include 40 pages of evidence from Johanna Sjoberg, another alleged victim of Epstein.
According to Preska, many people named in the suit—which also includes victims—have already been identified by the press or during Maxwell's criminal trial, while several on the list "did not raise an objection" to being publicly named.
However, some identities will not be revealed, including the names of Epstein's child victims. The sex offender was linked to celebrities, politicians and royalty, with Trump and Bill Clinton connected to the businessman—but all have strongly denied any involvement in Epstein's sex-trafficking scheme.
Trump and Clinton have not been accused of any involvement in Epstein and Maxwell's alleged crimes.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
fairness meter
To Rate This Article
About the writer
Sophie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in Lincoln, UK. Her focus is reporting on film and ... Read more
