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How the Miami Herald Got the Epstein Documents

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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.”

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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.”





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Miami, FL

Reneau, Donaldson lead Miami over Stanford 79-70

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Reneau, Donaldson lead Miami over Stanford 79-70


CORAL GABLES, Fla. — – Malik Reneau scored 20 points, Tre Donaldson added 18, and Miami pulled away inside the final seven minutes to beat Stanford 79-70 on Wednesday night.

Miami used an 11-2 run to tie it at 51-all with 9:35 to play. About two minutes later, Dante Allen’s 3-pointer sparked another 11-2 surge that gave the Hurricanes a 67-58 advantage with 2:46 remaining before they sealed it from the free-throw line.

Shelton Henderson and Tru Washington added 12 points apiece for Miami (17-4, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which has won consecutive games since a two-game skid ended a 10-game win streak.

Ebuka Okorie scored 19 points and Benny Gealer added 17 to lead Stanford (14-7, 3-5). Ryan Agarwal chipped in with 11 points and AJ Rohosy scored 10.

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Okorie scored 11 points and Agarwal added nine to help give Stanford a 40-35 halftime advantage. The Cardinal hit 7 of 14 from distance and shot 52% (16 of 31). Donaldson and Reneau scored 13 points apiece in the first half for the Hurricanes.

Miami made half of its 28 field goals after the break while Stanford shot 35.5% (11 of 31) from the floor.

Up next

Stanford: at Florida State on Saturday.

Miami: hosts California on Saturday.

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Darian Mensah Officially Joins Miami Hurricanes After Agreement With Duke

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Darian Mensah Officially Joins Miami Hurricanes After Agreement With Duke


Darian Mensah has enrolled at Miami, becoming the latest standout transfer quarterback to join the Hurricanes, who are coming off a runner-up finish in their first trip to the College Football Playoff.

Mensah transferred to Miami from ACC rival Duke on Tuesday night. Duke agreed earlier Tuesday to end a legal battle with its now-former quarterback over whether he should be allowed to sign elsewhere.

Duke and Mensah announced they came to that agreement a few hours before Mensah and his top target with the Blue Devils this past season — wide receiver Cooper Barkate — toured the Miami campus in Coral Gables, Florida.

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About 12 hours later, Mensah’s deal with Miami was official.

Mensah is joining his third team in as many years. He threw for 2,723 yards and 22 touchdowns for Tulane in 2024, then had 3,973 passing yards and 34 touchdowns — both best in the ACC — for Duke while leading the Blue Devils to a surprise conference title this past season.

And the Hurricanes are hoping he can keep their run of portal-quarterback success going.

Miami nailed the transfer route the last two seasons, first with Cam Ward — who played his way into becoming the No. 1 pick in last year’s NFL draft — leading the Hurricanes to a 10-win season in 2024, then this past season with Carson Beck guiding the team to its first national championship game in nearly a quarter-century.

The Hurricanes return a slew of offensive firepower from the national runner-up team, including star wide receiver Malachi Toney — the nation’s top freshman this past season — along with running backs Mark Fletcher Jr., Marty Brown and Girard Pringle, and tight end Elija Lofton.

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Barkate would add even more to that already-loaded mix. He has 185 catches for 2,848 yards and 21 touchdowns in his college career, which includes three years at Harvard — he has an economics degree from there — and then this past season at Duke.

Duke plays at Miami this coming season, visiting on Nov. 14. The Blue Devils are coached by Manny Diaz, who coached Miami from 2019 through 2021. He was replaced in Coral Gables by Miami alum Mario Cristobal, who led the team to a school-record 13 wins this past season and its first instance of back-to-back 10-win seasons since a four-year run of those from 2000 through 2003.

Miami opens the 2026 season at Stanford on Sept. 4.

Reporting by The Associated Press.



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FDOT orders continued safety stand-down after 6 workers injured on Miami I-395 bridge project

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FDOT orders continued safety stand-down after 6 workers injured on Miami I-395 bridge project


MIAMI — Florida transportation officials said a safety stand-down remains in effect for certain construction operations on the Interstate 395 bridge project after six workers were critically injured during a concrete pour earlier this month.

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In an email sent to Local 10 News on Tuesday, the Florida Department of Transportation said the Jan. 17 incident occurred during formwork operations, when concrete was being poured into a temporary mold used to form a bridge component known as a “pier cap.”

FDOT emphasized that the incident did not involve the signature bridge arches themselves and happened within a controlled work zone, away from ongoing traffic.

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“At the time of the incident, the Department immediately issued a safety stand down, and that continues in effect for all formwork operations,” said FDOT spokesperson Maria Rosa Higgins Fallon. “These operations will remain paused while the contractor implements a corrective action plan to help prevent future incidents of this nature.”

Higgins Fallon did not provide details about the injuries sustained by the six workers, how many remain hospitalized or their current conditions, despite specific questions about whether workers suffered from broken bones, burns or other trauma.

FDOT also did not address whether any workers were trapped during the collapse, as described in emergency dispatcher calls and by fire rescue officials.

Miami Fire Rescue officials previously said crews were called to the I-395 work zone shortly after 10 p.m. on Jan. 17 following reports of a construction accident.

Authorities said all six workers fell or toppled roughly 30 feet during a concrete pour and were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center with serious injuries.

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Fire officials said some workers were briefly pinned or trapped among metal bars and wooden materials before being extricated using specialized rescue equipment and a crane already on site.

FDOT confirmed it is working with project leadership to review safety procedures but did not directly answer whether the U.S. Department of Labor or Occupational Safety and Health Administration has formally opened an investigation into the incident.

Local 10’s request to the Department of Labor seeking confirmation of a federal investigation was pending as of Tuesday.

The project is being built by the Archer Western–de Moya Joint Venture, the same contractor involved in a 2021 fatal construction incident in Clearwater that resulted in OSHA safety violations, according to federal records. Local 10 News has requested comment from the company but has not received a response.

The I-395 project, which includes a six-arch “signature bridge” and major interstate reconstruction near downtown Miami, is years behind schedule and has faced complex construction challenges due to the unique design of its precast concrete components.

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FDOT said maintaining safety remains its top priority as reviews continue. The investigation into the Jan. 17 incident remains ongoing.

Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.



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