US justice department releases heavily redacted cache of Jeffrey Epstein files

Photos included in tranche of documents as Democrats accuse Trump officials of failing to comply with law

A protest group called "Hot Mess" hold up signs of Jeffrey Epstein in front of the Federal courthouse on July 8, 2019 in New York City. Picture: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

The Department of Justice on Friday released a long-awaited and huge tranche of documents detailing its investigations into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a major development in the lengthy saga that turned into one of the biggest political setbacks Donald Trump has suffered since his re-election last year.

While significant portions of the files are redacted, those that were viewable included images of Epstein socializing with an array of prominent figures, including entertainers like Michael Jackson, Chris Tucker and Diana Ross, and the entrepreneur Richard Branson. 

Bill Clinton appears in several photos, including one in which he is in a swimming pool along with Epstein’s convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. The images also show former British royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Another cache of documents showed photos of evidence gathered including drives and computers but did not reveal details as to the contents. There was also a photo of what appeared to be a dog in a garbage bag, placed inside a box.

In a letter to Congress, Todd Blanche said the documents, which date back to 2006, when Epstein was investigated on child prostitution charges, were only the first set of what is planned for release. “The volume of materials to be reviewed … means that the department must publicly produce responsive documents on a rolling basis,” the deputy attorney general wrote in the letter obtained by Fox News.

He also acknowledged an array of redactions, including the identifying details of more than 1,200 victims and their family members.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor reclining across the laps of five people has been released in the latest tranche of Epstein files.

Congressional Democrats accused the Trump administration of failing to adhere to the letter of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires the justice department to release all “unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” in its possession related to the financier’s cases by 19 December. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex-trafficking minors.

The law also requires the justice department to publish any materials from the investigations that relate toMaxwell, who was found guilty in 2021 of aidingEpstein’s sex trafficking of teen girls and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

“Technically they’re not in compliance,” said Democratic congressman Ro Khanna, a leader of the push to get the legislation passed.

“The law calls for all the documents that are unclassified to be released. They have not done that. The law also calls for them to explain redactions. I haven’t seen yet whether they’ve done that or not. My initial read is that they have a lot of redactions without explanation,” Khanna said.

Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, echoed his concerns, and said in a statement: “We will pursue every option to make sure the truth comes out.” 

Thomas Massie, a Republican, also joined the chorus, writing on social media that the document release “grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law that [Donald Trump] signed just 30 days ago”.

Richard Branson (left) and paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, released in the latest tranche of Epstein files. Picture: US Department of Justice/PA Wire

Abigail Jackson, the White House deputy press secretary, said the documents’ release prove that “the Trump administration is the most transparent in history” and said it “has done more for the victims than Democrats ever have” by making the files public and cooperating with a separate congressional investigation.

Epstein’s case has captivated public attention for years, and been the subject of countless conspiracy theories – largely due to his connections to powerful and wealthy figures in the US and overseas, including Trump.

While he has the authority as president to make the documents public, Trump previously opposed doing so, and said the concern over his ties to Epstein was a “Democrat hoax”. As the House of Representatives neared approval of the bill in November, the president abruptly reversed his position and said Republican lawmakers should support it. It was later passed unanimously by the Senate, and Trump signed the measure into law on 19 November, triggering a 30-day countdown for the documents’ release.

Although the law mandates the release of unclassified materials, it may not provide the full transparency demanded by numerous Epstein victims, as it does include notable carve-outs, including a provision exempting materials “that would jeopardize an active federal investigation” from being released.

The legislation also states that “no later than 15 days” after the materials are made public, the justice department must provide Congress with a list of all categories of records released and withheld, a summary of any redactions made, and a list of “all government officials and politically exposed individuals named or referenced in the published materials”.

Jeffrey Epstein talking with Steve Bannon. (House Oversight Committee via AP)

Before the release of the materials, experts also warned that the disclosure of records may not provide a full accounting of Epstein’s crimes or his network, and that it could still leave many Epstein questions unanswered.

Trump vowed to release Epstein-related files as he campaigned for president last year. This summer, his administration sparked backlash after the justice department announced it would not release any files related to the late financier, and said it had found “no incriminating client list” despite earlier claims from Pam Bondi, the attorney general, that such a document was sitting on her desk.

The announcement sparked bipartisan outrage – including from some Trump supporters – and reignited scrutiny of Epstein’s past ties to Trump, with whom he was friendly for at least 15 years before falling out in 2004. The president has consistently denied any knowledge of or involvement in Epstein’s criminal activities.

In mid-November, several days before Congress voted to release the DoJ files, Democrats on the House oversight committee released three email exchanges they received from Epstein’s estate in response to a subpoena that dated from 2011, 2015 and 2019, and included one email in which Epstein claimed that Trump “knew about the girls”.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, dismissed the emails, and accused Democrats of “selectively” leaking them “to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump”.

Ghislaine Maxwell standing outside 10 Downing Street, London, released in the latest tranche of Epstein files. Picture: US Department of Justice/PA Wire

Later that day, Republicans on the committee released over 20,000 documents they received from Epstein’s estate, including emails between Epstein and prominent figures.

In early December, House Democrats on the committee released several dozen photographs from Epstein’s estate that highlight his ties to prominent figures, including Trump, Clinton and Mountbatten-Windsor.

Angel Ureña, a spokesperson for Bill Clinton, said that the Epstein investigation wasn’t about the former president.

“There are two types of people here,” he said. “The first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light. The second group continued relationships after that. We’re in the first. No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that.” 

The images represent a small number of the almost 100,000 images given to the House committee, and were released without context or captions.

Jeffrey Epstein talking with Noam Chomsky. Picture: House Oversight Committee via AP

This week, House Democrats on the committee released another batch of photos from Epstein’s estate, as the deadline for the DoJ to release its files loomed.

Among the images were photographs of lines from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita – which is about a middle-aged man’s sexual obsession with and sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl – written on different parts of a woman’s body. It was reported earlier this year that photos from inside Epstein’s Manhattan mansion revealed that he kept a first edition copy of Lolita in his office.

The same batch also included photos of travel documents, and notable people like Bill Gates, Woody Allen, Noam Chomsky, and Steve Bannon, Trump’s former adviser.

The images provided by the estate were undated, and provided without context. The appearance of these people in the photos is not evidence of any wrongdoing.

 - The Guardian