Bombshell Report: DOJ Seeks to Keep Two Names of Jeffrey Epstein's Associates a Secret

In a new report from NBC’s Tom Winter, it was revealed that the Department of Justice is seeking to keep two names of Jeffrey Epstein’s associates sealed. NBC News recently requested a federal judge to disclose the names; however, on Friday, September 5, the DOJ told the federal judge overseeing the Epstein investigation that denying the outlet’s demand would be in the best interest of the two unknown associates.

The protected names were wired large sums of money from Epstein in 2018, approximately one year before he committed suicide in jail while awaiting his trial.

MSNBC anchor Alex Witt was joined by NBC political contributor Yamiche Alcindor on Saturday, September 6, when Alcindor reiterated Winter’s breaking story.

“Court documents show the Justice Department cited privacy concerns expressed by the two individuals as the reason for not making their names public,” Alcindor told Witt.

The political commentator explained the amounts Epstein wired to the two individuals, whose names remain redacted. “The first associate received a payment of $100,000 from Epstein. The second associate received a payment of $250,000.”

Epstein’s wire transfers were sent just two days after the Miami Herald published several stories on victims criticizing the plea deal Epstein struck in 2008, which included federal prosecutors agreeing to not prosecute the two individuals who received the wired money.

Although Epstein didn’t send the wire transfers until 2018, 10 years after the terms of his plea deal were made, the two associates had already been protected in his agreement. It wasn’t until he was indicted and arrested in 2019 that news of his transfers was disclosed to the public. Still, the names remained redacted.

When Epstein requested to be released on bail, federal prosecutors in New York filed a memorandum on July 16, 2019, arguing that the financier should remain in jail to prevent him from tampering with witnesses by any means, including sending large sums of money as a way to silence them.

Within the memorandum, prosecutors wrote that on November 30, 2018, Epstein “wired $100,000 from a trust account he controlled, to an individual named as [REDACTED] a potential co-conspirator — and for whom Epstein obtained protection in — the NPA.” Prosecutors wrote that said individual was “named and featured prominently in the Herald series.”

They also noted how “the same records show that just three days later, on or about December 3, 2018, the defendant wired $250,000 from the same trust account to [REDACTED], who was also named as a potential co-conspirator — and for whom Epstein also obtained protection in — the NPA.”

Prosecutors continued, “This individual is also one of the employees identified in the Indictment, which alleges that she and two other identified employees facilitated the defendant’s trafficking of minors by, among other things, contacting victims and scheduling their sexual encounters with the defendant at his residences in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida.”

Following NBC News’ request to unseal the redacted names, Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, responded on September 5 with a letter, stating, “Individual-1 and Individual-2 are uncharged third parties who have not waived their privacy interests; indeed, both Individual-1 and Individual-2 have expressly objected to the unsealing of their names and personal identifying information in the July 2019 Letter.”