A federal judge in Manhattan on Monday ordered that several records be unsealed in a case related to deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sex-trafficking enterprise.
The case involves the counter-lawsuit filed by Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz against Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who accused Dershowitz of lying about having sex with her when she was a minor. Dershowitz in turn filed a countersuit in April 2019 accusing Giuffre of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, claiming he had never even met Giuffre.
In the litigation, Dershowitz, a former Epstein attorney, filed a motion to compel former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner and Wexner family attorney John Zeiger to produce certain documents under subpoena and to sit for depositions in the case. In response to the motion, Dershowitz, Giuffre, Wexner, and Zeiger all submitted letters to the court under seal. According to Monday’s order, those letters will now be unsealed for the first time.
“The Court has reviewed letters submitted under seal by Defendant Alan Dershowitz, Plaintiff Virginia Giuffre, and nonparties Leslie Wexner and John Zeiger, concerning Mr. Dershowitz’s request for a pre-motion conference on a motion to compel Mr. Wexner and Mr. Zeiger (1) to disclose certain materials requested in various Rule 45 subpoenas and (2) to provide deposition testimony,” U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska wrote. “First, the Court sees no reason for that correspondence to remain under seal. The parties shall file their respective letters on the public docket as soon as is practicable.”
Because both Dershowitz and Giuffre have also asked the court about obtaining documents and testimony from Wexner and Zeiger, Judge Preska ordered attorneys from all four parties to “confer” on the matter and “report to the Court by letter no later than August 13, 2020.”
All four were also ordered to appear before the court via telephonic conference on Aug. 17, which will be opened to the media and general public.
One document that has already been made public outlined the details and scope of Dershowitz’s subpoenas of Wexner and Zeiger:
Professor Dershowitz originally issued the Subpoenas to Mr. Wexner and Mr. Zeiger on April 28, 2020, and thereafter commenced a meet and confer process with their counsel, Marion Little (who is Zeiger’s law partner), while Wexner’s and Zeiger’s obligation to formally respond to the Subpoenas was held in abeyance by agreement. On June 8, 2020, at Little’s request, Professor Dershowitz revised the Subpoenas to make clear that he was not seeking any attorney-client privileged or work product materials. Little accepted service of those Subpoenas. Ex. B at 2. Those Subpoenas seek the following non-privileged documents from Wexner and Zeiger:
1. All Documents sent or delivered concerning Communications between Wexner or Zeiger and any lawyer representing Giuffre.
2. All Documents sent or delivered concerning Communications between Wexner or Zeiger and any lawyer at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, concerning any Jeffrey Epstein-related matter.
3. All Documents sent or delivered concerning Communications between Wexner or Zeiger and Bradley Edwards, Paul Cassell, or Stanley Pottinger.
4. All Documents received from Giuffre concerning any accusation by Giuffre that she had sexual relations with Wexner.
5. All Documents concerning any offer, agreement or promise Wexner made to help Epstein accusers – including providing information about Epstein’s assets to assist them in collecting judgments — in exchange for not sitting for a deposition in Epstein-related litigations.
6. All documents concerning any confidentiality agreement, settlement agreement, or other contractual agreement of any kind between Wexner and Giuffre or any lawyer for Giuffre.
7. All Documents previously produced by Wexner or Zeiger in Edwards and Cassell v. Dershowitz, Case No. CACE 15-000072 (17th Judicial District, Broward County, Florida).
8. All Documents previously produced by Wexner or Zeiger in Giuffre v. Maxwell.
9. All Documents previously produced by Wexner or Zeiger in response to any subpoena, whether criminal or civil, in any matter related to Jeffrey Epstein.
See below for the full order from Judge Preska:
Preska SDNY Order by Law&Crime on Scribd
[image via John Lamparski/Getty Images for Hulu]
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