A long-serving conservative justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas, has been named in a deeply disturbing allegation that surfaced in a recently released batch of documents connected to Jeffrey Epstein. The documents were made public by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of an enormous disclosure involving roughly 3.5 million files.
Because of the sheer size of this release, the records include a wide range of raw material: tips, emails, complaints, and accusations that were collected over many years. Many of these claims were never fully investigated, verified, or supported by evidence. Their presence in the files does not mean they are true, accurate, or legally substantiated. Importantly, Clarence Thomas has not been charged with any crime and is not known to be under investigation in relation to this allegation.
The accusation involving Thomas appears in a single email sent to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The message was addressed to two federal judges and written by someone who claimed to be a victim connected to Epstein’s wider circle. In the email, the writer accused John Martorano, a notorious organized-crime figure and convicted hitman, of raping her. Martorano has admitted to killing roughly 20 people and became widely known after striking a controversial plea deal in 1999 that resulted in a 12-year prison sentence, a punishment many critics felt was far too lenient given the scale of his admitted crimes.
According to the email, the accuser claimed that Martorano told her he had direct contact with Clarence Thomas. She alleged that Martorano took nude photographs of her and made a disturbing remark, saying, “Let’s take a picture for Clarence Thomas.” The email then escalated further, accusing Thomas himself of sexually assaulting her when she was a child.
The writer also claimed that the allegation was documented in what she described as a CIA file. She said her childhood involved heavy drug use imposed on her by others, which she believes damaged her memory. Because of this, she said she struggled for years to clearly remember what had happened to her. According to her account, people later questioned her about the abuse, but she was unable to provide clear details at the time because she had been repeatedly drugged and disoriented as a child.
No supporting documents, photographs, records, or independent evidence were attached to the email. The accusation stands alone as an unverified personal claim within the broader document dump.
The email was not ignored or deleted. In August of last year, federal prosecutor Robert Sobelman forwarded the message internally to Kristen Warden. Based on her public professional profile, Warden works at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and previously served at the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General. Sobelman explained that he was forwarding the message as part of routine procedure related to Epstein-connected complaints, rather than as a confirmed or substantiated case.
Warden responded by asking whether the email came from the same individual involved in earlier complaints related to guardianship issues that she had previously reviewed. Sobelman replied that it was indeed the same complainant, suggesting that federal officials were already familiar with the individual and her past communications.
Despite the severity and emotional weight of the allegation, the documents themselves clearly show that this claim was never verified. There is no indication that prosecutors found evidence to support it, opened a formal case based on it, or took legal action as a result. Its appearance in the released files reflects the DOJ’s decision to disclose raw materials collected over time, not a determination of truth or guilt.
The release of such unfiltered records has sparked renewed debate about transparency, accountability, and the risks of misinterpretation. While the allegation is undeniably serious and troubling, the available information makes clear that it remains an unproven claim, unsupported by evidence, and not tied to any known criminal charge or investigation involving Clarence Thomas.
