Thomas Pritzker, Hyatt billionaire and governor's cousin, named in Jeffrey Epstein documents
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Hyatt Hotels billionaire Thomas Pritzker, a cousin of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, is among the names of more than 100 people connected to Jeffrey Epstein in documents made public on Wednesday, following a federal judge's December ruling that the information be unsealed.
Nearly 4 ½ years after Epstein died by suicide in a New York federal prison, the names of his associates, employees, and alleged victims are now unsealed in court documents.
They're connected to a 2015 settled civil suit involving Epstein accomplice Ghislane Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Epstein groom and sexually abuse underage girls.
More than 900 pages of primarily unredacted documents were released Wednesday. The documents include the names of more than 150 people mentioned by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's most prominent accusers.
In 2020, Giuffre told CBS's Gayle King she believed Maxwell likely had incriminating information on many high-profile people.
"Very well-known names. You know, the government officials, the politicians, the royalty," she said.
Much of the information in the newly released documents has been previously reported, and many of those whose names are mentioned are not accused of wrongdoing.
The names were kept under seal for years, but a federal judge ruled there was no legal justification to keep them private last month.
The documents mention former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump but do not accuse them of wrongdoing.
It also includes Britain's Prince Andrew, who settled a 2022 lawsuit with Giuffre.
In a deposition, Giuffre accused Thomas Pritzker, a Chicago businessman and Hyatt Hotels executive chairman, of serious sexual allegations, naming him as one of several men she was trafficked to have sex with.
A spokesperson for Pritzker told Reuters that Pritzker "continues to vehemently deny" the allegation.
Gov. JB Pritzker's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the documents listing his cousin.
The Epstein documents are being unsealed on a rolling basis, with two being held back until at least the end of the month.
Cara Tabachnick and Allison Elyse Gualtieri contributed to this report