Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi has launched authorities paperwork associated to rich financier Jeffrey Epstein, however the first wave of information posted on the Justice Division web site have largely been circulating within the public area for years, and didn’t embody any new bombshells in regards to the sex-trafficking case.
The small batch of paperwork included copies of flight logs from Epstein’s personal airplane, which have lengthy been out there as proof in a number of courtroom circumstances, and a closely redacted photocopy of an handle guide purportedly compiled by Epstein and his longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell, which has been cited in media accounts for a few years.
The Justice Division on Thursday additionally launched a blacked-out record of masseuses and an proof record exhibiting entries for greater than 150 objects, together with nude photographs, therapeutic massage tables and intercourse toys. There wasn’t any indication whether or not the record was from Epstein’s case, Maxwell’s case or one other investigation.
Bondi had teased the paperwork throughout a Fox Information look Wednesday, saying, “Breaking information proper now: You’re going to see some Epstein info launched.”
President Trump, who was in workplace when Epstein was arrested in 2019, advised whereas campaigning final 12 months that he’d search to open up the federal government’s information on the late intercourse offender.
However the rollout of the paperwork — which have been first given to political commentators on the White Home hours earlier in binders that learn “The Epstein Information: Section I” — confirmed the administration’s penchant for showmanship and choice for conservative influencers with massive social media followings.
The Justice Division didn’t submit the information on its web site till hours later, together with a be aware downplaying their significance. “The primary section of declassified information largely incorporates paperwork which were beforehand leaked however by no means launched in a proper capability by the U.S. Authorities,” the be aware mentioned.
The paperwork are unlikely to fulfill on-line sleuths looking forward to contemporary particulars about Epstein’s crimes and his connections to well-known folks, which have lengthy been the topic of intense media scrutiny. The dearth of latest info drew criticism, even from some conservatives.
“GET US THE INFORMATION WE ASKED FOR!” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) wrote on social media, calling the rollout a “full disappointment.”
Bondi advised Thursday in a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel that extra information had lately been found. She ordered the FBI at hand over “the complete and full Epstein information” to her by Friday morning, and directed Patel to “conduct a direct investigation” into why her order to the FBI to show over all paperwork hadn’t been adopted.
Patel vowed in a submit on X that he would guarantee all paperwork are offered to Justice Division management.
“If there are gaps, we are going to discover them. If information have been hidden, we are going to uncover them. And we are going to carry all the pieces we discover to the DOJ to be absolutely assessed and transparently disseminated to the American folks accurately,” he mentioned.
Epstein was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage women within the early 2000s, however wound up serving simply 13 months in jail. He was indicted on federal costs in New York in 2019, greater than a decade after he secretly struck a cope with federal prosecutors in Florida to dispose of comparable costs of intercourse trafficking.
The case has drawn widespread consideration due to Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell’s hyperlinks to royals, presidents and billionaires. Maxwell herself is the daughter of the late British media tycoon Robert Maxwell, who as soon as owned the New York Each day Information.
Over time, 1000’s of pages of information have been launched by way of lawsuits, Epstein’s felony dockets, public disclosures and Freedom of Data Act requests. In January 2024, a courtroom unsealed the ultimate batch of a trove of paperwork that had been collected as proof in a lawsuit filed by Epstein sufferer Virginia Giuffre.
A lot of the fabric, together with transcripts of sufferer interviews and outdated police studies, had already been publicly identified. They included mentions of Trump, former President Invoice Clinton, Britain’s Prince Andrew and magician David Copperfield, in addition to testimony from one sufferer who mentioned that she met Michael Jackson at Epstein’s Florida dwelling however that nothing untoward occurred with the pop star.
The beforehand launched information included a 2016 deposition wherein an accuser recounted spending a number of hours with Epstein at Trump’s Atlantic Metropolis on line casino. She didn’t say whether or not she had really met Trump and didn’t accuse him of any wrongdoing.
Trump has mentioned that he as soon as thought Epstein was a “terrific man,” however that they later had a falling-out.
In 2023, the Related Press obtained 1000’s of pages of information shedding gentle on the ultimate days of Epstein’s life at a now-shuttered federal jail in Manhattan. They included emails between jail officers, psychological evaluations, inside company studies, memos and different information.
The Justice Division’s inspector common later issued a report discovering {that a} “mixture of negligence, misconduct and outright job efficiency failures” by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and jail employees had enabled Epstein to take his personal life in August 2019. The watchdog report discovered no proof of foul play.
Richer and Sisak write for the Related Press.
