Ghislaine Maxwell Will No Longer Fight To Keep Names Of Eight ‘John Does’ Secret

Lawyers for Virginia Giuffre have asked Judge Lorretta Preska to unseal the names of eight ‘John Does’ from a previous civil lawsuit.

Previously, Maxwell had thought to keep the names of the ‘John Does’ a secret. The letter from Menninger reflected this update.

After careful review of the detailed objections submitted by [the eight Non-Party Does], counsel for Ghislaine Maxwell writes to inform the Court that she does not wish to further address those objections.

Each of the listed Does has counsel who have ably asserted their own respective privacy rights. Ms. Maxwell therefore leaves it to this Court to conduct the appropriate review consistent with the Order and Protocol from Unsealing Decided Motions.

However, this update does not necessarily mean that the names will be made public, but it does mean that Maxwell is no longer opposing their release.

It said:

Now that Maxwell’s criminal trial has come and gone, there is little reason to retain protection over the vast swaths of information about Epstein and Maxwell’s sex-trafficking operation that were originally filed under seal in this case.

Six of the ‘John Does’ have reportedly objected to the sealing being lifted, with one saying that they wish to keep their identity anonymous to avoid ‘annoyance and embarrassment’.

Another added that revealing his name would cause him to be ‘hounded’ by the media and that he wishes to keep a ‘private life’.

The news comes after a judge denied Prince Andrew’s attempts to dismiss the case Giuffre had filed against him.

Andrew had requested for the case brought against him to be dismissed. During a hearing on January 12, presided over by Judge Lewis A Kaplan, Judge Kaplan denied the request and the case is set to continue.

Following the decision, Giuffre’s attorney David Boies relayed her feelings.

Virginia Giuffre is, of course, pleased that Prince Andrew’s motion to dismiss has been denied, and that evidence will now be taken concerning her claims against him.

They went on to add that Giuffre ‘looks forward to a judicial determination of the merits of those claims’.