It's worth remembering how this story was covered over time:
**2006-2008:**
- Local news only
- Few national outlets touched it
- Plea deal barely covered
**2010-2015:**
- Story essentially dead
- Occasional tabloid mentions
- Lawsuit filings ignored
**2018-2019:**
- Miami Herald breaks it open
- Suddenly "news" again
- Everyone acts surprised
**Lesson:**
The information was available. Court documents are public. It took specific journalists deciding to pursue it.
Many outlets that now cover it extensively ignored it for years. Worth remembering.
For those trying to keep track:
**2019:**
- SDNY indictment (July)
- Initial discovery filings
**2020:**
- Maxwell arrest documents (July)
- Giuffre case unsealing (ongoing)
**2021:**
- Maxwell trial evidence
- First major unsealing
**2022-2023:**
- Continued unsealing per court order
- 2024 document release announced
**2024:**
- January: Major unsealing (names released)
- DOJ FOIA responses
- FBI documents
**November 2025:**
- House Oversight "final" release
- Most comprehensive batch yet
Each release adds context to previous releases. Worth re-reading old documents with new information.
I was a reporter when the Palm Beach story first broke. Some perspective:
**What we knew in 2006:**
- Local investigation ongoing
- FBI involvement rumored
- Very difficult to get sources on record
- Legal threats constant
**Why story didn't explode then:**
- Pre-social media era
- Local story, national outlets not interested
- Victim reluctance to speak publicly
- Legal pressure on media outlets
**What changed by 2018:**
- Social media amplification
- #MeToo context
- Julie Brown's persistence
- Victims more willing to speak
The facts were available in 2006. The conditions for them to matter changed.
The August 2019 death at Metropolitan Correctional Center remains controversial.
**Official findings:**
- Medical examiner: Suicide by hanging
- DOJ investigation: Multiple failures by staff
- Two guards charged, later acquitted
**Documented failures:**
- Removed from suicide watch early
- Guards falsified check logs
- Cameras malfunctioned
- Cellmate transferred night before
**What documents show:**
- MCC inspection reports from 2018 show chronic understaffing
- Previous incidents at facility
- Guards working overtime shifts
I'm not saying what happened. I'm saying the documented failures are extraordinary.
DOJ-IG report: DOJ-OIG-2021-003
Julie K. Brown's "Perversion of Justice" series was the catalyst for the 2019 arrest. Here's how it unfolded:
**Nov 2018:** First part published
**Dec 2018:** Series continues, national attention grows
**Feb 2019:** DOJ opens review of 2008 agreement
**July 2019:** SDNY arrests JE at Teterboro
Brown spent 18 months investigating before publication. She found over 60 victims.
What's remarkable is how much of this information was technically public. The Miami Herald connected dots that had been sitting in court files for years.
The series won a Pulitzer. Well deserved.
Archived articles: [link]
I finally feel confident enough to share this. I've been cross-referencing flight logs, court documents, and news archives to build a comprehensive timeline.
**1990s: The Beginning**
- 1991: First documented meeting between JE and key financiers
- 1994: Purchase of NYC residence
- 1996: Little St. James acquisition
**2000s: Peak Activity**
- 2002: February trip cluster (see FlightTracker_'s analysis)
- 2005: First criminal investigation (Palm Beach)
- 2008: Plea deal
**2010s: Unraveling**
- 2015: Giuffre lawsuit filed
- 2019: Arrest and death
Full interactive timeline with sources: [link]
Feel free to point out anything I'm missing. This is a collaborative effort.
