Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email

       Please enter a valid email address

       Please enter a valid email address

       SIGN UP

       I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

       Thanks for signing up to the

       Inside Washington email

       {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

       Presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy Jr has claimed he will be left unscathed by the unsealing of Jeffrey Epstein court documents - having previously revealed he flew on the disgraced financier’s private jet.

       Forty legal filings from the settled 2015 lawsuit between Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell became public on Wednesday after New York Judge Loretta Preska issued an order in December to unseal materials connected to the case. The documents include names of “alleged victims, people not accused of wrongdoing…and absent third parties” and being identified through the court documents does not necessarily mean that the individual was involved in or aware of any wrongdoing by Epstein.

       Some of the high-profile names mentioned in the filings, including former US presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, had already been publicly tied to Epstein. Mr Clinton has previously denied ever visiting Epstein’s island and any links to the convicted paedophile, while Mr Trump has said in the past that he had “no relationship” with Epstein.

       A political figure who was not mentioned in the filings, but has volunteered in recent months that he flew on Epstein’s plane, was independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr.

       Appearing on NewsNation’s Dan Abrams Live on Wednesday night, Mr Kennedy said he was not concerned that information from the unsealed filings would taint his public image.

       “I like what’s happening today. I like the fact that all these papers are being released. I’ve been an advocate for transparency. I think the government keeps too many secrets,” Mr Kennedy said. “I think it’s important for the American public to know whether Jeffrey Epstein had some kind of corrupt influence on public officials or any public figure.”

       Mr Kennedy revealed last September during an appearance on Fox News that he had flown on Epstein’s plane on two occasions. Mr Kennedy elaborated on Wednesday that the first plane ride took place in 1993, when he went to visit his mother in Palm Beach.

       “Remember, nobody knew anything about Jeffrey Epstein’s nefarious activities till 2006,” Mr Kennedy added. “My wife knew his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell and they offered us a ride when we were going to see my mother. I was with two children and my wife on the plane at that time, I knew nothing about Jeffrey Epstein.”

       Mr Kennedy added that he accepted a second plane ride one or two years later when he took his children fossil hunting on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

       “I hope everything that is known about Jeffrey Epstein comes out,” Mr Kennedy told Mr Adams. “I think it’s odd that they have not– that Congress has not been able to subpoena and I’ve been an advocate for making sure that the government is transparent about everything, including every document, everything that is known about Jeffrey Epstein.”

       Mr Kennedy’s remarks come after he garnered enough signatures to qualify for the Utah presidential ballot. This is the first state in which Mr Kennedy has qualified, after meeting the 1,000-signature threshold.

       The scion of America’s most famous political family announced in October that he was switching from running for the Democratic nomination to running as an independent candidate.

       It remains unclear whether Mr Kennedy’s name is mentioned in the filings ordered to be unsealed, as a large part of those are still expected to become public in the coming days.

       The documents are part of Ms Giuffre’s civil suit, which was settled in 2017 and helped consolidate the criminal case against Maxwell in 2021. Maxwell was later sentenced to 20 years in prison on five charges of sex trafficking minor girls.

       She has since appealed her conviction

       The Miami Herald, whose investigation into Epstein led to his arrest in 2019, first sued in 2018 for the release of all documents related to the lawsuit.

       Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019.

       The Independent has reached out to Mr Kennedy’s campaign.

       More about Jeffrey Epstein Ghislaine Maxwell Robert F Kennedy Jr

       Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

       Comments

       1/ 1RFK Jr reacts to unsealed Epstein filings: ‘I like what’s happening’

       RFK Jr reacts to unsealed Epstein filings: ‘I like what’s happening’

       Election 2024 Kennedy Who Gets Hurt

       Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

       ？ Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article

       Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.

       Subscribe

       Already subscribed? Log in