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<\/a><\/p>\nEpstein, a billionaire and friend of the Clintons\u00a0(Bill Clinton flew on his “Lolita Express” Boeing 727 jet\u00a0dozens of times<\/a>),\u00a0was convicted of soliciting an underage girl for prostitution – on of two counts for which he served 13 months in “custody with work release.”<\/p>\n Epstein, now 66, reached the deal in 2008 with then-Miami U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta\u2019s office to end the federal probe that could have landed him in prison for life.\u00a0Epstein instead pleaded guilty to lesser state charges, spent 13 months in jail, paid financial settlements to victims and is a registered sex offender.<\/strong>\u00a0–Time<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The sealed records appeal relates to a 2015 defamation lawsuit in New York\u00a0<\/strong>brought by Epstein\u00a0victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre\u00a0against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.\u00a0Giuffre says Maxwell\u00a0helped Epstein traffic herself and other underage girls to sex parties at the billionaire pedophile’s many residences.\u00a0The case was settled in 2017\u00a0and the records were sealed<\/strong>\u00a0– leading to an appeal by the Miami Herald and several other parties seeking\u00a0to make them public\u00a0in the hopes of shedding more light on the scope of Epstein’s crimes – along with determining who else was involved and\u00a0whether any undue influence tainted the case<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Oral arguments are scheduled Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/a>