The Department of Justice has asked a federal judge to withhold the names of two Jeffrey Epstein associates who received a combined $350,000 from him in 2018.
NBC News said that it filed a motion to unseal the names of the associates but is facing pushback from the DOJ, which has requested that the names remain confidential.
The mystery associates reportedly received the payments—one for $100,000, the other for $250,000—just days after a Miami Herald investigation renewed scrutiny on a plea deal the convicted pedophile received a decade earlier in 2008.
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NBC News reports that the associates were described as “co-conspirators” in his arrest for soliciting sex from a teenager. The network reported that their names were sealed “as part of the plea agreement” and included a promise that the duo “would not be prosecuted.”
Epstein was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges at the time of his death, which was ruled a suicide in 2019. His second arrest renewed attention on the mystery associates as prosecutors argued against Epstein being released on bail because they feared he might tamper with witnesses.
The associates are reportedly named repeatedly in stories by the Herald, but it remains unclear who they are. Prosecutors wrote in a filing that the payments may be evidence of “efforts to influence witnesses.”
NBC News reports that it requested that the names be unsealed in July. U.S. District Judge Richard Berman set a deadline of Sept. 5 for the DOJ to respond, which it met with a letter from Jay Clayton of the Southern District of New York. Clayton was formerly the chair of the SEC during President Donald Trump’s first term and was later appointed as a U.S. attorney by the president.
Clayton wrote in his letter, “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.”
The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has faced increased pressure to release details about Epstein, his alleged associates, and the circumstances of his death. Trump campaigned on releasing the so-called “Epstein files” last year, but has so far done little to reveal new information to the public.
In the absence of new details, the public, including his own diehard supporters, has seized on his longtime relationship with the disgraced financier, whom he has been photographed with on several occasions.
