Question
How did the Miami Herald obtain its Epstein documents and source material?
Answer
Julie K. Brown, the Miami Herald reporter whose 2018 series “Perversion of Justice” was the definitive public account of the NPA scandal, conducted approximately one year of investigative research before publication. Her methodology involved several distinct approaches.
Court and Public Records Brown filed extensive public records requests with Florida courts and state and federal agencies, accessing filings from the civil litigation that had already produced significant documentary evidence. Some court documents had been sealed but contained indexes or partial records accessible through the clerk’s offices.
Direct Victim Outreach Brown identified and directly contacted more than 60 women who had been connected to Epstein as witnesses or victims. Many had never spoken publicly and some had signed non-disclosure agreements, but Brown established trust with a core group who agreed to speak on record. These firsthand accounts gave the story its narrative force.
Former Investigators Brown spoke with current and former law enforcement personnel who had worked on the Florida investigation — including individuals associated with the Palm Beach police investigation and the federal grand jury process. These sources provided guidance on the documentary record and the prosecutorial decision-making.
The Federal Court Fight for Documents Crucially, Brown and the Herald filed legal motions to unseal court records in an ongoing civil case — Giuffre v. Maxwell — that contained depositions, correspondence, and evidence from the civil discovery process. The Herald’s litigation to unseal these records was ultimately successful and resulted in hundreds of pages of previously secret documents being made public.
Sources
- Julie K. Brown, “Perversion of Justice” series, Miami Herald, November 2018
- Brown’s subsequent book, “Perversion of Justice” (2021)