Jeffery Epstien’s mugshot (Source: AP News)

Jeffery Epstein, New York financier and alleged human trafficker, hung himself in a NY prison in August 2019. For many, an unsatisfying end to a man who federal investigators had alleged trafficked at least 36 young women.

The latest development in the Epstien story has been the release of dozens of documents from a 2015 lawsuit filed by Epstien against former business partner Ghislaine Maxwell earlier this year.

This collection of court filings, emails, police reports, government documents, and depositions has been misleadingly pushed by social media sources as a “list” of possible clients. The documents actually reference over 150 of Epstien’s associates and high-level contacts.

The documents do not provide any more evidence as to whether any of these people were involved with or were clients of Epstein and Maxwell’s child trafficking.

Some notable names mentioned in this document include former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, England’s Prince Andrew, actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Kevin Spacey, singer Michael Jackson, director George Lucas, physicist Stephen Hawkings, and many others. 

One of the most prominent rumors surrounding the list refers to a now debunked document detailing  Stephen Hawkings interest in midgets, trying to solve complex equations on a slightly too-tall chalkboard.

The fabricated screenshot was made by Twitter user, drefanzor memes, who said, “I thought it was outlandish enough to be obvious.” 

It is true, however, that Hawkings was mentioned in an email that implies he may have participated in an orge involving underaged girls.

The reality of these documents has been wildly misrepresented by rumors and straight-up misinformation.