Miami, FL
How the Miami Herald Got the Epstein Documents
Last week, a judge began to release hundreds of pages of previously sealed court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. Speculation about the anticipated contents abounded, with various corners of the internet hyping a presumed “Epstein client list” naming high-profile associates of the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. Yet most of the names revealed in the filings—including Donald Trump and Bill Clinton—were already publicly known. That there was no smoking gun list of stars tied to Epstein’s trafficking of minors seemed, for some, to be the biggest takeaway. Take The New York Times’ write-up, which noted that while “the documents “appeared to add a bit more context” to Epstein’s relationship with powerful men, “they provided little, if any, new fodder for conspiracy theorists who remain fixated on Mr. Epstein’s dealings more than four years after his death.”
The Miami Herald’s Julie Brown, however, has a different perspective. “It is all part of the story,” she says, of “our criminal justice system and how we allow rich, famous, influential people to manipulate” it—a story she has been trying to tell for years. Brown is the reporter who, in a three-part investigation in 2018, questioned the 2008 plea deal that allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges and identified dozens of victims who accused Epstein of seeking and paying underage girls for sex. Her reporting returned Epstein to the spotlight and helped prompt his 2019 arrest. “It’s missing the point if all you want is names of famous people,” she says. “It’s about understanding the web of human trafficking and sex trafficking in our country.”
In recent days, the Herald has reported that the records contained “several full depositions that had not previously been public, subpoenas, witness lists, and court motions.” Among them was a June 2016 deposition by a girl whose name was redacted and was about 16 or 17 when she was lured to Epstein’s room. “I was just there, and all of a sudden something horrible happened to me,” the girl recalled, explaining that she was vague on details because she “worked very, very hard to not recall anything specific about my sexual encounters with this person as one of his victims.” Another new revelation was testimony given by a witness, Johanna Sjoberg, who worked for Epstein for five years and said she once overheard him on the phone talking about the hairdresser Frédéric Fekkai. “I heard him call someone and say Fekkai is in Hawaii. Can we find some girls for him?” she said. (Fekkai has denied knowing of Epstein’s conduct in the past.) The Herald also reported that the documents released “provide a deeper window into [Virginia] Giuffre’s quest to get the FBI and federal prosecutors to arrest Epstein,” including through “emails to FBI agents and a former federal prosecutor.”
The unsealed documents come from a 2015 defamation lawsuit filed against Ghislaine Maxwell—the British socialite and Epstein associate who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for her role in aiding Epstein’s abuse—by Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims. The Herald has been fighting since 2018 to make documents in the case public. Thousands of pages of documents have been released as a result of their legal fight, and the latest batch, unsealed January 9, “are just the last of them,” says Brown. “They’ve been coming out in dribs and drabs for years now, and I think that you have to look at the totality of the information,” she says, which “is that this was a much bigger operation than just two dozen girls being sexually abused in Palm Beach.” She says the Herald was “never under the delusion that we were going to learn all these big names.” But “these documents are important to these victims. They want the truth to come out.”
The 2015 defamation case was settled out of court in 2017, but lots of information in it remained sealed. When Brown was working on her series for the Herald, she heard from sources that “there were documents in this lawsuit that would reveal more about the scope of what [Maxwell and Epstein] were doing,” she says. “Up until then, it was really only known that the crime happened in Palm Beach and there were victims in Palm Beach.” Now, she notes, “Of course, we know that the crimes were much more expansive than that”—thanks in part, she says, to the Herald’s legal fight. “Some of the first documents that were released were the most revealing,” says Brown, “and they were released on August 9, 2019, which was the day before Epstein was found dead.” The Herald’s original motion to intervene in the case and unseal the documents, in April 2018, came at the advice of former Herald attorney Sandy Bohrer, says Casey Frank, the Herald’s investigations editor. “We don’t like to throw money at lawsuits that are likely losers, but here’s a case where our lawyer was telling us, everything I see here tells me that you ought to sue,” says Frank, who has been with the paper for more than 40 years. “You may lose at the first level, but I think you’ll win at the second level,” Frank recalled Bohrer saying. “And by gosh, we won at the appeal level.”
Herald reporters have acknowledged the limits of the unsealed records while also maintaining their value. “Though none of the records directly implicate anyone beyond Epstein and Maxwell in illegal or improper activities, witnesses—mostly young women—testified that Epstein bragged about his sexual prowess with virgins and boasted of his long list of famous acquaintances,” the Herald wrote of the latest batch of documents. That list included Trump, Clinton, Prince Andrew, and the late Michael Jackson. (Neither Trump nor Clinton are accused of any wrongdoing involving Epstein, and a spokesperson for Clinton has referred to a statement issued on behalf of the former president in 2019, which stated he had no knowledge of Epstein’s “terrible crimes.” In 2022, Prince Andrew settled a sexual abuse lawsuit brought by Giuffre, though he has insisted he never met Giuffre and denied any wrongdoing.) “As is often the case with Epstein,” Brown wrote for the Herald, the documents “included salacious but largely unproven allegations by women who have lived traumatic lives, made more difficult by their involvement with Epstein.”
I ask Brown if she thinks that Epstein’s death and Maxwell’s imprisonment have dampened the media’s interest in the story, even as mainstream publications such as the Times and Wall Street Journal have conducted investigations in recent years. “Not only the media’s interest, but, more importantly, the government’s interest,” she says. “We know the names of some of the people that helped him and who worked for him.” She acknowledges that Maxwell’s case was a “very difficult” one to prosecute. But, she adds, “It just boggles my mind that there is only one person paying the price for this horrific crime.”
Keshad Johnson of the Miami Heat won the Slam Dunk contest at NBA All-Star Saturday, overcoming perfect scores by San Antonio rookie Carter Bryant on his first dunk in the final round.
For his final dunk, Johnson started behind the judges’ table, took off from the free throw line and threw down a one-handed windmill jam. His first dunk earned a slightly higher score for a between-the-legs move.
Bryant earned the contest’s highest score for his first dunk in the final. He bounced the ball in front of him, caught it between his legs and dunked with his right hand, earning perfect 50.0 marks from all five judges.
But Bryant struggled on his second dunk. He missed his first two tries, pausing to talk to Vince Carter in between. He attempted bouncing the ball off the glass and throwing down a reverse but it rolled around the rim and out. He settled for a less flashy but successful dunk on his third and final attempt.
It wasn’t enough, giving the NBA a new slam dunk champion in Johnson. He accepted the trophy from Hall of Famer Julius Erving after shaking hands with all of the judges.
“All the kids out there, keep dreaming, anything can happen,” Johnson said. “I just came out here and showed people.”
If there’d been a dance contest, Johnson would have won that, too. He came dancing onto the court, smiling all the way, and danced after claiming the title.
Three-time dunk winner Mac McClung — currently on a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls — didn’t participate. He was the only competitor in history to have a perfect contest, scoring 50s from every judge on all of his dunks last year in San Francisco.
It was a four-man field for the fifth consecutive year, with Jaxson Hayes of the Lakers and Jase Richardson of Orlando joining Johnson and Bryant. But Hayes and Richardson didn’t advance to the final.
In the first round, Johnson brought out rapper E-40. After missing on his first try, he leapt over E-40’s bowed head and slammed the ball down while keeping his left hand behind his head.
Judging the contest were Erving, fellow Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, Dwight Howard, Corey Maggette and Brent Barry.
3-point contest
Damian Lillard isn’t playing this season. He still scored big anyway, winning the 3-point contest over Devin Booker.
Lillard tied Larry Bird and Craig Hodges with his third title, most in the contest’s history. Defending champion Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat didn’t compete.
Lillard scored 30 points in the final round, edging Booker, who got hot early but tailed off and finished with 27. Booker of the Phoenix Suns was the champion in 2018.
“I was praying for his downfall,” Lillard said.
Charlotte Hornets standout rookie Kon Knueppel finished third with 17 points, wrinkling his nose at the result.
Lillard won his first title in 2023 while playing for the Portland Trail Blazers. He won it again the following year with Milwaukee. He’s not playing for the Blazers while rehabbing from a torn left Achilles tendon. Still, he told the NBA he’d suit up for the contest if he needed.
“That’s all I do it for, keep adding to my legacy,” he said.
Booker was the top scorer after the first round with 30 points. Knueppel and Lillard were tied for second with 27.
Lillard fired away in the final, with the The Wall section of fans at the Los Angeles Clippers’ Intuit Dome holding up red umbrellas in a sign he was making it rain.
“You just got to let the ball fly, trust your instincts as a shooter, and you can’t get ruffled when someone else gets hot,” Lillard said.
Eliminated after the first round were Donovan Mitchell, Tyrese Maxey, Norman Powell, Jamal Murray and Bobby Portis Jr.
Among the celebs on hand were Spike Lee, Magic Johnson, Queen Latifah, James Worthy, comics Keegan-Michael Key and Chris Tucker and singer Joey Fatone. Ludacris performed “All I Do Is Win” and other hits in a flame- and firecracker-filled show before the dunk contest.
Shooting stars
Team Knicks, comprised of Karl-Anthony Towns, Allan Houston and Jalen Brunson, won the Shooting Stars trophy with 47 points. Lee, wearing his New York bucket hat, grinned from courtside.
They rallied in the final seconds to beat Team Cameron’s Knueppel, Jalen Johnson and Maggette, who finished with 38 points in the contest’s return for the first time since 2015.
Brunson’s father, Rick, a current Knicks assistant, served as the winning team’s “celebrity” passer.
Team Cameron, a nod to the trio’s alma mater of Duke, took its passes from actor-comedian Anthony Anderson.
Ron Harper Jr., Dylan Harper and Ron Harper of Team Harper, along with Team All-Star’s Richard Hamilton, Chet Holmgren and Scottie Barnes were eliminated after the first round.
Teams had 70 seconds to score points while rotating through seven designated shooting locations around the court, with all three players on a team shooting at each spot in a set order.
A Miami-Dade deputy accused of trying to meet a minor in Delray Beach was arrested on Friday, records showed.
Christopher Diaz was charged with battery, Palm Beach jail records showed.
According to Delray Beach Police, an officer arrived at the IPIC Theaters after receiving reports of a man who traveled to meet with a minor and engage in lascivious acts.
An arrest report said that a sergeant at the scene detained the man and took his handgun, which was on his waistline.
When the officer spoke with the victim, she said she matched with Diaz on two different dating apps, the report said. The victim then told Diaz to text her, and while they were texting, she told him she was 15 years old.
Diaz, the report said, disregarded the fact that she was a minor and continued talking with her, and their conversations became sexual. The two would also FaceTime.
On Friday, the victim, who was posing as a 15-year-old girl, agreed to meet Diaz at the theater, the report said. When they met, the victim said Diaz started touching her face and her upper chest while she said no.
The two then went outside the theater, and the victim’s group, “561 Predator Catchers,” confronted Diaz, the report said.
561 Predator Catchers will pose as minors and try to meet up with adults.
In a livestream video on the social media platform Kick, three men confronted another man who said he was a police officer in Miami-Dade.
Diaz was then taken into custody.
Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz released the following statement:
“Lieutenant Christopher Diaz of the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office was arrested by Delray Beach Police Department as a result of a criminal investigation.”
“I am outraged by the arrest of one of my deputies on criminal charges involving alleged contact with an individual who posed as a minor.”
This behavior is unacceptable and represents a serious betrayal of the oath we swear and the trust our community places in us to protect our children.”
Upon being notified, I immediately ordered that the deputy be relieved of duty. Our agency has no tolerance for this behavior and we are fully cooperating with the criminal investigation.”
MDSO said they have started termination proceedings for Diaz, and he was relieved of duty without pay.
“After reviewing the law-enforcement information related to this case, I have directed that termination proceedings begin immediately. The deputy has been relieved of duty without pay, effective immediately.”
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