Seymour Hersh Claims Epstein Intelligence Material Is Still Being Withheld

Day six of Tyler Robinson’s preliminary hearing, held September 1, 2026, centered on closing arguments and the prosecution’s claim that the evidence easily cleared Utah’s probable-cause standard. Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride argued that the state had built its case through four overlapping categories of evidence: surveillance footage placing Robinson at Utah Valley University, DNA recovered from the rifle authorities identified as the murder weapon, Robinson’s alleged admissions after the shooting, and circumstantial evidence establishing motive, means and opportunity. Prosecutors also leaned heavily on Robinson’s alleged messages to Lance Twiggs, including statements that he had gone on a “mission” to kill Charlie Kirk and had “had enough of his hatred,” along with politically charged engravings found on ammunition. The state maintained that the evidence established not only that Robinson was the shooter, but that Kirk had been targeted because of his political expression. Prosecutors characterized the case as overwhelming and argued that the remaining factual disputes belonged before a jury rather than being resolved at the preliminary-hearing stage.

In her April 29, 2016 second amended supplemental discovery response, Virginia Giuffre pushed back aggressively against Ghislaine Maxwell’s effort to obtain an enormous range of information about her personal life, allegations, relationships and communications. Giuffre argued that many of Maxwell’s interrogatories violated the Southern District of New York’s local discovery rules because they went well beyond basic identification of witnesses, damages and relevant documents and were being used prematurely as a substitute for depositions or document requests. She repeatedly objected that Maxwell’s demands were overly broad, unduly burdensome, irrelevant, invasive and, in some instances, designed to harass or intimidate her. Maxwell sought materials concerning Giuffre’s communications with Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell, Alan Dershowitz, Prince Andrew and others; photographs and video involving those people; records surrounding her attorneys, family, marriage and Australian naturalization; writings about Epstein and Maxwell; and records connected to Giuffre’s advocacy organization Victims Refuse Silence. Giuffre also invoked attorney-client privilege, work-product protection and other privileges where applicable while maintaining that she had already produced thousands of pages of responsive material.

In her April 29, 2016 second amended supplemental discovery response, Virginia Giuffre pushed back aggressively against Ghislaine Maxwell’s effort to obtain an enormous range of information about her personal life, allegations, relationships and communications. Giuffre argued that many of Maxwell’s interrogatories violated the Southern District of New York’s local discovery rules because they went well beyond basic identification of witnesses, damages and relevant documents and were being used prematurely as a substitute for depositions or document requests. She repeatedly objected that Maxwell’s demands were overly broad, unduly burdensome, irrelevant, invasive and, in some instances, designed to harass or intimidate her. Maxwell sought materials concerning Giuffre’s communications with Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell, Alan Dershowitz, Prince Andrew and others; photographs and video involving those people; records surrounding her attorneys, family, marriage and Australian naturalization; writings about Epstein and Maxwell; and records connected to Giuffre’s advocacy organization Victims Refuse Silence. Giuffre also invoked attorney-client privilege, work-product protection and other privileges where applicable while maintaining that she had already produced thousands of pages of responsive material.

For nearly two decades, the Jeffrey Epstein scandal has exposed profound failures within the American justice system, beginning with the controversial 2007 nonprosecution agreement that allowed Epstein to avoid federal prosecution despite an extensive investigation into his sexual abuse of underage girls. Subsequent federal investigations, Epstein's 2019 arrest and death, Ghislaine Maxwell's conviction, and the release of millions of pages of government records have only intensified questions about the decisions that allowed Epstein and his operation to escape meaningful scrutiny for so long. Now, House Judiciary Committee Democrats are calling for the appointment of an independent special counsel to investigate potential Epstein accomplices and the Justice Department's handling of the case. Although the demand is long overdue, it represents an opportunity to move beyond the congressional hearings, internal reviews, selective disclosures, and political maneuvering that have dominated the scandal. The Department of Justice has repeatedly been placed in the position of examining its own conduct, raising serious concerns about institutional conflicts of interest and the credibility of its conclusions. A genuinely independent investigation should revisit the original Florida prosecution, the negotiations surrounding the nonprosecution agreement, the involvement of senior federal officials, the handling of evidence, and the possibility that individuals or institutions improperly interfered with efforts to hold Epstein and his associates accountable.

For nearly two decades, the Jeffrey Epstein scandal has exposed profound failures within the American justice system, beginning with the controversial 2007 nonprosecution agreement that allowed Epstein to avoid federal prosecution despite an extensive investigation into his sexual abuse of underage girls. Subsequent federal investigations, Epstein's 2019 arrest and death, Ghislaine Maxwell's conviction, and the release of millions of pages of government records have only intensified questions about the decisions that allowed Epstein and his operation to escape meaningful scrutiny for so long. Now, House Judiciary Committee Democrats are calling for the appointment of an independent special counsel to investigate potential Epstein accomplices and the Justice Department's handling of the case. Although the demand is long overdue, it represents an opportunity to move beyond the congressional hearings, internal reviews, selective disclosures, and political maneuvering that have dominated the scandal. The Department of Justice has repeatedly been placed in the position of examining its own conduct, raising serious concerns about institutional conflicts of interest and the credibility of its conclusions. A genuinely independent investigation should revisit the original Florida prosecution, the negotiations surrounding the nonprosecution agreement, the involvement of senior federal officials, the handling of evidence, and the possibility that individuals or institutions improperly interfered with efforts to hold Epstein and his associates accountable.