SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
APPELLATE DIVISION - FIRST DEPARTMENT
x
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW
YORK,
- against -
JEFFREY E. EPSTEIN, Respondent, App. Div. No. 6081
SUPPLEMENTAL AFFIRMATION OF
JOHN M. BROWNING IN FURTHER
SUPPORT OF MOTION TO UNSEAL
On Appeal from New York Supreme Court,
Defendant -Appellant. New York County, Index No. 30129/10
(Pickholz, J.)
x
John M. Browning, an attorney duly admitted to practice before the Courts of the State of
New York, affirms the following under penalties of perjury:
1. I am an associate of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, attorneys for non-party movant
NYP Holdings, Inc., publisher of the New York Post (the "Post") and I submit this supplemental
affirmation in further support of the Post's motion to unseal the briefs filed by the parties in the
above-captioned appeal.
2. The grounds for unsealing the appeal briefs in this action are set forth in the
affirmation of John M. Browning dated January 15, 2019, the accompanying memorandum of
law and the notice of motion (the "Motion"). I submit this supplemental affirmation in response
to the Affirmation in Response to Non-Party Motion to Unseal Appellate Briefs filed by
Assistant District Attorney Hilary Hassler dated January 18, 2019 (the "Response") and to state
additional facts that are relevant to the Post's motion, of which I have personal knowledge. For
the reasons set forth below, the Post has mooted all of Ms. Hassler's objections and its Motion
should be granted accordingly.
4849-5535-6553v. I 3930033-000039
EFTA00798561
3. In its Response, the Office of the District Attorney of New York County (the
"Manhattan DA") faulted the Post for failing to "furnish the requisite notice to either the
appropriate prosecuting agencies or to the victims themselves." Response ¶ 4. The Manhattan
DA also asserted that "the prosecuting agencies ... [must] be given an opportunity to be heard"
before the Court can grant the Post's Motion. Id. 115
4. As the Post pointed out in its motion, however, it notified both the U.S. Attorney
in the Southern District of Florida and the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office (i.e., the
"prosecuting agencies") prior to filing the Motion and served both offices with copies of the
Motion at the time of filing. Neither office has ever objected to the Motion. Moreover, the Post
was unable to directly provide notice of its Motion to the victims because their identities remain
under seal and are hence unknown to the Post. To be clear, the Post does not seek the identities
of Mr. Epstein's victims in its motion and has consistently taken the position that the Manhattan
DA can redact victim names and identifying information before producing the requested appeal
briefs.
5. On January 30, 2019, I spoke with Assistant District Attorney Hassler on the
telephone and she reiterated the New York DA's position that the Post is supposedly required to
notify Mr. Epstein's victims before the Post's Motion could be granted, even though the Post
does not know who those victims were. Ms. Hassler further stated that, if the Post was able to
notify the victims, the Manhattan DA would not oppose the Post's filing of a reply affirmation
setting forth relevant facts.
6. On January 31, 2019, I spoke with the Palm Beach County State Attorney's
Office, who told me that their access department was handling the matter and would return my
call. I never received a return call. And we have never received any opposition or objection to
2
EFTA00798562
our Motion from the Palm Beach County State Attorney, despite the fact that we served them
with the Motion more than a month ago.
7. On January 31, 2019, I also spoke with Dexter Lee, who is a staff attorney in the
Office of the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Florida. Mr. Lee informed me that his
office had not taken a position on the Motion and was unsure whether he was able to notify Mr.
Epstein's victims on the Post's behalf, but would look into it.
8. On February 5, 2019, Mr. Lee sent an email to three attorneys to place them on
notice of the Post's motion to unseal the appeal briefs: Robert Josefsberg, Brad Edwards and
Paul Cassell. Mr. Lee selected these three attorneys because they currently represent victims of
Mr. Epstein's sex crimes in various proceedings. In his email, Mr. Lee notified the attorneys that
the Post had moved to unseal the appellate briefs and attached copies of the Post's motion
papers. Mr. Lee also provided contact details for the Post's attorneys, including my name, email
address, telephone number and the name of my firm.
9. During a follow up call I had with Mr. Lee on March 1, 2019, Mr. Lee informed
me that he had notified attorneys representing Mr. Epstein's victims of the Post's motion, but
had received no substantive response from those attorneys or the victims themselves. During
that call, Mr. Lee also confirmed that the U.S. Government takes no position on our Motion to
unseal.
10. One month later after Mr. Lee sent his notification emails, the Post has not
received any communications from any of Mr. Epstein's victims or their attorneys.
11. In short, even though the Post's Motion to unseal does not seek the names of Mr.
Epstein's victims (or any identifying information), the Post has done everything in its power to
notify Mr. Epstein's victims and ascertain the position of the Florida prosecutors. Having been
3
EFTA00798563
given ample opportunity to oppose the Motion, neither the victims nor the Florida prosecutors
have lodged any objection to the Post's request for the appellate briefs to be released with victim
names and identifying information redacted. Indeed, the Manhattan DA is the only party to
object. The Post has now mooted all of these objections by notifying Mr. Epstein's victims and
confirming that the Florida prosecutors do not oppose the Motion.
12. It bears repeating that the Post maintains its position that it has been forced to
jump through unnecessary procedural hoops. From the very beginning, the Post has made clear
that it does not seek victim's names and has also stressed that the prosecuting agencies
(including the Manhattan DA) should be responsible for notifying victims, since their names
remain unknown to the Post. In any event, since the Post has unquestionably resolved the
Manhattan DA's concerns and no other party objects, the Court should grant the Post's Motion
and order the Manhattan DA to produce the requested briefs with only the names and identifying
features of the victims redacted.
Dated: New York, New York
March 12, 2019
4
EFTA00798564
SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION
FIRST DEPARTMENT x
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK,
- against -
JEFFREY E. EPSTEIN, Respondent,
Defendant -Appellant. x App. Div. No. 6081
On Appeal from New York
Supreme Court, New York
County, Index No. 30129/10
(Pickholz, J.)
AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE
STATE OF NEW YORK
) ss.:
COUNTY OF NEW YORK
JOHN BROWNING, being duly sworn, states, I am not a party to the action, am over 18
years of age and reside in Kings County, New York. On March 12, 2019, I caused to be served a
true and correct copy of the annexed by mail in the custody of Federal Express directed to the
following:
Martin Weinberg
20 Park Place, Suite 1000
Boston, MA 02116
Hilary Hassler
Assistant District Attorney — New York County
One Hogan Place
New York, New York 10013
David Aronberg
State Attorney
151h Judicial Circuit — Palm Beach County Florida
401 North Dixie Highway
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Dexter Lee
Assistant U.S. Attorney
Southern District of Florida
99 E. 4th Street
Miami, FL 33132
4849-5535-6553y. 13930033-000039
EFTA00798565
Dated: New York, New York
March 15, 2019
Sworn to before me this
15th day of March, 2019
Notary Public
RETTA E. PERRY 4 LO
NOS Public, State ot New YoAc
No. 24-4931617
cm.‘;:.fied in KIngs County eir<_y1
ComrntssLon Expues August 1,01.,t1/4iy
2 By:
EFTA00798566
📷 Images in this document (6 detected)
AI-generated factual descriptions of embedded images (llava:13b). These are searchable across the corpus.
[Image 1] The image shows a document that appears to be a letter or a legal notice. The document is addressed to "JOHN DOE" and is signed by "JOHN BROWN." It mentions a "VICTIM" and refers to a "VICTIM'S STATEMENT." The document includes a paragraph numbered "10" and mentions a "VICTIM'S STATEMENT" and a "VICTIM'S REQUEST." The text is formal and seems to be related to legal proceedings or a formal request.
[Image 2] The image is a page from a legal document, specifically a letter from the District Attorney's Office of New York County. The text is written in English and appears to be a formal communication regarding a legal matter. The document includes a header with the name of the sender and the recipient, and it is numbered as page 3. The body of the text discusses legal matters and references specific case
[Image 3] The image shows a document with text, which appears to be a letter or a report. The text is written in English and includes numbered points, suggesting it might be an official communication or a formal report. The document contains references to a person named "Ms. Tusaie," and it mentions dates such as "February 1, 2015," "March 1, 2015," and "March 10, 2015." There are also references to a "Mr.
[Image 4] The image appears to be a document scan, specifically a letter or a note. It contains handwritten text and signatures. The visible names include "Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton" and "Senator Charles E. Schumer." The date mentioned is "10th day of March, 1999." The location is "New York." The document seems to be related to a political or official matter, as indicated by the names and the date.
[Image 5] The image is a document scan, specifically a court filing or legal document. It contains text and a header with the title "SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK" and the case number. The document is signed by a defendant, and there are references to a plaintiff and a defendant. The text includes a description of the case, the parties involved, and the relief sought by the plaintiff. The document
[Image 6] The image shows a document that appears to be a court filing or legal document. It is a scanned copy of a page with text and a header that includes the name of the court and the case number. The visible text includes the names of the parties involved, the date of the filing, and the title of the document, which is "MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT." The document is from the United States District Court