Which witnesses in the Epstein litigation expressly denied meeting Ehud Barak in their depositions, and where are those transcripts published?
Executive summary
Only one witness in the newly reported, public Epstein civil-litigation depositions is recorded as expressly denying ever meeting former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak: Johanna Sjoberg, and that denial appears in unsealed deposition materials reported by The Times of Israel (the deposition itself is part of the tranche of documents the U.S. Justice Department released) [1] [2].
1. Johanna Sjoberg’s explicit denial and where it appears
Victim-witness Johanna Sjoberg was asked in the unsealed deposition materials whether she had ever met Ehud Barak, and she replied that she had not; that exchange is reported in The Times of Israel’s coverage of the newly unsealed records [1]. The Times of Israel cites the deposition among other records made public in the Justice Department’s release of Epstein-related files; those DOJ releases are the source of the unsealed depositions and related transcripts [1] [2].
2. What the broader document releases show about Barak but do not contradict Sjoberg’s statement
The larger DOJ tranche includes millions of pages, emails and audio that show extensive correspondence and contacts between Barak and Jeffrey Epstein — including stay records and communications about meetings and visits — but those documents do not, in the reporting reviewed here, identify other deposition witnesses who expressly denied meeting Barak in sworn testimony [2] [3] [4]. Major outlets covering the DOJ release emphasize Barak’s repeated presence in the files while also noting that inclusion in the documents is not proof of criminal conduct [2] [5] [6].
3. Sealed records, named but not publicly transcribed — an important limitation
Reporting also makes clear that some depositions and records remain sealed or were obtained in related litigation and are not publicly available for inspection, meaning the absence of other denials in public reporting could reflect redaction or sealing rather than absence of such testimony [7]. The Jerusalem Post noted sealed depositions involving Epstein that name Barak, underscoring that not every testimony about Barak has been unsealed or published [7].
4. How the transcripts were published and how to access them in reporting
The specific deposition excerpt reporting Sjoberg’s denial was disclosed as part of the unsealed documents covered by news organizations after the Justice Department released large tranches of files; The Times of Israel published the deposition detail drawn from those unsealed materials [1] [2]. The DOJ’s public releases — described in contemporary reportage as millions of pages, audio and images — are the primary repository for the underlying materials, and major outlets like The Times of Israel and the BBC summarized or excerpted individual deposition content from that release [2] [5].
5. Alternative views, potential agendas and what remains unanswered
Some reporting frames the DOJ file dumps as revealing substantive contacts between Epstein and powerful figures, including Barak, while cautioning that documents alone do not prove unlawful conduct and that many named figures have denied wrongdoing or downplayed ties [6] [5]. Advocacy outlets and commentators have suggested intelligence or influence angles in the Israel-Epstein nexus, but those claims rely on intelligence memos or interpretation rather than deposition denials and are not dispositive about witness testimony [8]. Importantly, the sources reviewed do not provide a comprehensive index of every deposition transcript; therefore the only confirmed, publicly reported sworn denial located in these unsealed deposition materials is Johanna Sjoberg’s [1] [2] [7].