3 million Epstein-linked documents, thousands of videos and images released by US Justice Department six weeks after it missed its original deadline.
The US Department of Justice released the largest ever public disclosure of documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, publishing more than three million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos on Friday.
The release follows a law passed last year—the Epstein Files Transparency Act—and comes six weeks after the department missed its original deadline.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the disclosure marked “the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people and compliance.”
Epstein died in August 2019 while in federal custody, awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He had previously pleaded guilty in 2008 in Florida to soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl under a controversial plea deal that allowed him to serve a lenient sentence.
Former and current US president Donald Trump is mentioned hundreds of times across the newly released files. The files include prison records, a psychological report, investigative materials related to Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and extensive email correspondence between Epstein and a wide range of political, business and cultural figures, loaded before corrections could be made.
“Just left Ghislaine’s townhouse...after party for film,” the publicist’s email read as cited by New York Post. “Bill Clinton and Jeff Bezos were there...Jean Pigozzi, director Mira Nair...etc. Film received tepid reaction though women like it much more...Hillary Swank and [Richard] Gere are at stupid party in Bloomingdales cheap sportswear department...very weird,” the email read.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk also appears in email correspondence with Epstein from 2012 and 2013. In the exchanges, Musk discusses the possibility of visiting Epstein’s private island and asks which day would be “the wildest party.” Other messages discuss travel logistics by helicopter. Musk has said publicly that he declined Epstein’s invitations and has denied visiting the island. There is no evidence in the documents that the trip ever occurred.
The files further include unsent draft emails apparently written by Epstein about Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, containing lurid and unsubstantiated claims.
Epstein died in August 2019 while in federal custody, awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He had previously pleaded guilty in 2008 in Florida to soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl under a controversial plea deal that allowed him to serve a lenient sentence.
Epstein claimed in July 2013 that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates asked one of his advisers to provide him with medicine to treat sexually transmitted diseases, the consequences of “sex with Russian girls,” New York Post reported on Saturday. A spokesperson for Gates had shunned the allegations earlier. According to media reports, Gates’ spokesperson had dubbed the allegations as ‘absolutely absurd and completely false’. Gates’ spokesperson dismissed the allegations as “absolutely absurd and completely false,” describing Epstein as a “proven, disgruntled liar” attempting to defame Gates after their relationship ended.
Additional records show Epstein inviting then-financier and current US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick to his island in 2012. Emails suggest Lutnick’s wife responded positively, though Lutnick has since said he severed ties with Epstein years ago and described him as “gross.”
The documents also contain what appears to be a 2002 email from Melania Trump to Ghislaine Maxwell referencing a New York Magazine article about Epstein, as well as later correspondence discussing whether Epstein might visit Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.
Among the most prominent revelations are emails suggesting close ties between Epstein and figures within Britain’s elite. The emails discuss dining at Buckingham Palace “with lots of privacy” and include an offer by Epstein to introduce the Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to a 26-year-old Russian woman. The messages are signed “A,” with a signature resembling “HRH Duke of York KG,” and date to August 2010—two years after Epstein’s conviction.
The emails do not allege wrongdoing. Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied any involvement in Epstein’s crimes.
Additional emails appear to show correspondence between Epstein and Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s ex-wife.
The files also reveal financial and social ties between Epstein and Lord Peter Mandelson. Emails show Epstein sent £10,000 in 2009 to Mandelson’s now-husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, to help cover the cost of an osteopathy course. Other messages show Mandelson requesting to stay at Epstein’s property while Epstein was serving a sentence that allowed daytime work release.
Mandelson, who briefly served as the UK’s ambassador to the US in 2024 before being dismissed, has said he regretted his friendship with Epstein and claims he was deceived.
Among the names appearing in the files is Mira Nair, the acclaimed Indian-origin filmmaker and mother of New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Mira Nair attended an afterparty at convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell’s house for her film “Amelia,” reveals a new trove of documents tied to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The inclusion of Nair’s name does not imply wrongdoing and the email describes a social event attended by multiple public figures.
The latest materials also contain images showing figures such as Bill Gates, Steve Bannon, Woody Allen and former US President Bill Clinton socialising with Epstein, sometimes on his private island. None of those depicted have been charged in connection with the case.
Deputy Attorney General Blanche said all images of women were redacted except for those of Ghislaine Maxwell, though critics dispute how effectively victims’ identities were protected.
Despite these measures, some victims have criticised the scope of the redactions, arguing that documents previously in the public domain were among those blacked out. Women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred, who represents several Epstein survivors, sharply criticized the release, saying it exposed victims’ names and images—some of whom had never spoken publicly.
“They have devastated so many of these survivors by publicly releasing their names,” Allred said, describing the disclosure as “an absolute mess” and accusing the department of failing to adequately redact sensitive information.
While DOJ officials said hundreds of employees worked for months to protect victims, Allred warned that many files had already been downloaded.
Despite Deputy Attorney General Blanche Blanche’s assertion that the release marks the end of the DOJ’s review process, lawmakers remain sceptical. Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna noted that while the department identified over six million potentially responsive pages, only about 3.5 million have been released so far.
“This raises questions as to why the rest are being withheld,” Khanna said, adding that further scrutiny is needed.
The Department of Justice has acknowledged that the documents do not contain definitive lists of individuals who abused women.
Addressing concerns that influential figures were being protected, Deputy Attorney General Blanche Blanche rejected such claims, saying, “There’s this built-in assumption that somehow there’s this hidden tranche of information of men that we know about, that we’re covering up, or that we’re not, we’re choosing not to prosecute. That is not the case.”
The files provide unprecedented insight into Epstein’s vast social and political network, they also reinforce a lingering sense that key truths about his crimes, and the powerful people around him, may never fully come to light.
Maxwell, Epstein’s former partner, was convicted of child sex trafficking and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
