In France, investigators have reopened an investigation into several public figures tied to Epstein, including his close accomplice Jean-Luc Brunel, a model scout and alleged sex trafficker. Brunel died in a French jail cell in 2022 while awaiting trial on charges he raped children and trafficked women and girls to Jeffrey Epstein. French officials ruled his death a suicide.

The Wall Street Journal reports Brunel was secretly negotiating in 2016 with lawyers representing Epstein’s victims and was prepared to tell prosecutors what he knew about Epstein’s sex trafficking ring. In an email to attorney Kathy Ruemmler that year, Epstein said he’d discovered Brunel was planning to go to the U.S. attorney’s office the following week and that one of Brunel’s friends had “asked for $3 million so that Jean-Luc would not go in.” It’s not clear whether Brunel ever received that payment, but Brunel did not cooperate with prosecutors, and Epstein remained free for another three years.