Epstein files: Whose names and photos are in the latest document drop?

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The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has released thousands much documents relating to the prosecution of the precocious enactment offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein, including photographs of salient figures helium spent clip with. But campaigners down the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which compelled the Justice Department connected Friday to merchandise each files inactive sealed, accidental far excessively overmuch accusation successful them has been redacted.

Furthermore, according to US media, astatine slightest 16 of the files – which they said were disclosed precocious – person since “disappeared” from the website wherever they were released. The deleted files included a photograph showing President Donald Trump.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Trump signed into instrumentality aft it passed done Congress successful November, required the authorities to merchandise each remaining unclassified worldly successful its possession relating to Epstein’s and his woman Ghislaine Maxwell’s enactment trafficking cases. Maxwell is presently serving 20 years successful situation for her portion successful the scandal.

Despite dense redaction of galore of the documents, which has angered Democrats and immoderate Republicans alike, determination is immoderate caller accusation astir the almighty radical who associated with the disgraced precocious financier.

The Justice Department said it volition merchandise much documents successful the coming weeks.

Here’s what we cognize astir what’s been released truthful far:

What’s caller successful this tranche of Epstein files?

This is conscionable the latest merchandise of documents relating to the prosecution of Epstein, who died by termination successful a New York jailhouse successful 2019. The first tranche of astir 950 pages of tribunal documents was made nationalist successful aboriginal 2024.

One papers released this clip astir confirms that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was tipped disconnected astir the convicted enactment offender’s crimes astir a decennary earlier helium was archetypal arrested.

In September 1996, Epstein subsister Maria Farmer complained to the FBI that the precocious financier was progressive successful kid enactment abuse. Farmer said officials failed to instrumentality steps to investigate.

While the sanction of the complainant is redacted successful the papers relating to this ailment to the FBI, Farmer has confirmed it was made by her.

Now successful her 50s, Farmer said successful a connection via her lawyers aft the merchandise connected Friday that she feels “redeemed” and this was “one of the champion days of my life”.

“I privation everyone to cognize that I americium shedding tears of joyousness for myself but besides tears of sorrow for each the different victims that the FBI failed,” she said.

Newly released transcripts of expansive assemblage proceedings besides see grounds from FBI agents who described interviews that they conducted with girls and young women describing their experiences of being paid to execute enactment acts for Epstein. The youngest interviewee was 14, according to section media.

One woman, past aged 21, told a expansive assemblage that Epstein had hired her erstwhile she was 16 to execute a intersexual massage and that she had gone connected to enlistee different girls to bash the same.

“For each miss that I brought to the table, helium would springiness maine $200,” she said.

They were mostly radical she knew from precocious school, she said, adding that she told them that if they were nether age, “just prevarication astir it and archer him that you are 18.”

Much of the worldly published had already been circulating successful the nationalist domain aft years of tribunal enactment and investigations.

However, galore of the caller photos – immoderate of them heavy blacked retired – diagnostic well-known nationalist figures.

Who features successful the recently released photos?

Among the documents released connected Friday are photographs successful a folder labelled “DOJ Disclosures”. Most of the photographs were seized by the FBI during assorted searches of Epstein’s homes successful New York City and the US Virgin Islands.

New photos amusement the musicians Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson and Diana Ross successful photographs with Epstein and astatine times with different radical whose faces person been blacked out.

In 1 image, Jagger tin beryllium seen sitting betwixt Epstein and erstwhile US President Bill Clinton. Popstar Jackson is besides pictured lasting adjacent to Clinton and posing for a photograph with Epstein successful beforehand of a coating successful another.

Other celebrated men featured successful the recently released photos see the histrion Kevin Spacey, comedian Chris Tucker, billionaire Richard Branson, erstwhile UK ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – formerly known arsenic Britain’s Prince Andrew – and his erstwhile wife, Sarah Ferguson.

In 1 achromatic and achromatic image, Andrew tin beryllium seen lying crossed the laps of 5 radical whose faces person each been blacked retired portion Maxwell stands down them.

The Justice Department did not see immoderate details astir the contents oregon discourse of the photos.

Virginia Giuffre, who was 1 of Epstein’s astir salient accusers and who died by suicide successful April aged 41, accused Mountbatten-Windsor of intersexual abuse erstwhile she was 17. He settled a suit with her successful 2022 but continued to contradict the allegation.

Another salient fig among the photos is Clinton. One photograph shows him successful a swimming excavation with Maxwell and different idiosyncratic whose look has been blacked out. Another photograph shows the erstwhile US president successful a blistery tub with a pistillate whose look is besides redacted.

While Clinton has ne'er been accused of immoderate wrongdoing successful transportation with Epstein’s crimes, his spokesperson said the White House was utilizing him arsenic a scapegoat.

“This is astir shielding themselves from what comes next, oregon from what they’ll effort and fell forever. So they tin merchandise arsenic galore grainy 20-plus-year-old photos arsenic they want, but this isn’t astir Bill Clinton. Never has, ne'er volition be,” the spokesperson said successful a statement.

Clinton successful the past has said helium chopped ties with Epstein earlier the precocious financier pleaded blameworthy to solicitation of a insignificant successful Florida.

Does Trump look successful the Epstein files?

Trump hardly appears successful the files astatine all. The fewer photos that bash diagnostic him are ones that person been circulating successful the nationalist domain for decades.

According to 1 tribunal papers released connected Friday, Epstein was alleged to person taken a 14-year-old miss to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago edifice successful Florida and to person introduced her to the president.

While introducing her, Epstein elbowed Trump, asking him – referring to the teenager: “This is simply a bully one, right?” Trump smiled and nodded successful agreement, said the document from a lawsuit against Epstein’s property and Maxwell successful 2020.

In the tribunal filing, the unnamed plaintiff herself makes nary circumstantial accusation against Trump.

In effect to media requests for remark astir this tribunal document, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the Trump medication was “the astir transparent successful history” and by “recently calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, the Trump Administration has done much for the victims than Democrats ever have,” she added.

Have immoderate of the files disappeared since they were published connected Friday?

Apparently, yes. One image, primitively labelled File 468, which showed the wrong of a table drawer, included a photograph of Trump alongside Epstein, US archetypal woman Melania Trump and Maxwell.

Other missing photos were images of paintings depicting nude women and 1 showing a bid of photographs connected a cupboard and successful drawers.

On Saturday, The Associated Press quality bureau reported that astatine slightest 16 files published connected Friday had disappeared from the Justice Department’s webpage.

The section has not provided immoderate mentation oregon connection to the nationalist astir this but said successful a station connected X that “photos and different materials volition proceed being reviewed and redacted accordant with the instrumentality successful an abundance of caution arsenic we person further information.”

Democrats connected the Oversight Committee successful the US House of Representatives besides released 68 photos, drawn from the 95,000 photos and files the Oversight Committee has truthful acold received from the Epstein estate.

Democrats successful the committee said the images, which they released connected Thursday, “were selected to supply the nationalist with transparency into a typical illustration of the photos” and “to supply insights into Epstein’s web and his highly disturbing activities”.

Following the Justice Department’s merchandise connected Friday, the committee’s Democratic members questioned successful a station connected X wherefore the representation featuring a photograph of Trump, a Republican, was missing, stating: “What other is being covered up? We request transparency for the American public.”

Why has truthful overmuch been redacted?

Among the thousands of documents published connected Friday, astatine slightest 550 pages were reportedly afloat redacted.

One 119-page papers labelled “Grand Jury-NY” is wholly redacted arsenic is simply a acceptable of 3 consecutive documents totalling 255 pages. Each leafage is afloat blacked out.

Campaigners down the Epstein Files Transparency Act said they had hoped to get much accusation astir however the enactment offender had been capable to debar superior national charges for truthful galore years.

However, galore important FBI interviews with Epstein’s accusers and interior Justice Department memos connected charging decisions are unreadable.

Todd Blanche, the lawman lawyer general, sent a six-page missive to members of Congress laying retired the redaction process, noting that the instrumentality mandates that the section omit oregon redact immoderate references to victims and files that could jeopardise pending investigations oregon litigation.

Blanche explained that helium had, therefore, instructed attorneys to redact oregon withhold worldly that contained personally identifiable accusation astir victims; depicted oregon contained kid intersexual maltreatment materials; would jeopardise an progressive probe oregon prosecution; oregon contained classified nationalist defence oregon overseas argumentation information.

Without specifying which, Blanche added that successful immoderate instances, the section had withheld oregon redacted accusation covered by deliberative-process privilege, work-product privilege and attorney-client privilege.

When volition the remaining files beryllium released?

The Justice Department has said the work of thousands much documents concerning investigations into Epstein volition beryllium released successful the coming days arsenic the year-end holidays approach.

The section missed its archetypal Friday deadline to merchandise each the accusation it had connected Epstein successful usurpation of the instrumentality signed by Trump successful November ordering a implicit merchandise wrong 30 days.

After the driblet connected Friday, the section published 2 overmuch smaller tranches connected Saturday, which went beyond the archetypal redactions and featured identities of prosecutors, FBI lawsuit agents and different instrumentality enforcement unit who appeared earlier 2 national expansive juries successful New York state.

Several US lawmakers expressed choler astir the White House’s nonaccomplishment to nutrient each the documents required nether the instrumentality wrong the clip limit.

Representatives Ro Khanna, a Democrat, and Thomas Massie, a Republican – the duo who introduced the petition that yet led to the passing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act – powerfully criticised the partial merchandise connected societal media.

Massie wrote that it “grossly fails to comply with some the tone and the missive of the law”.

Khanna called the merchandise truthful acold “disappointing” and added: “We’re going to propulsion for the existent documents.”

Senate Democratic person Chuck Schumer accused the Trump medication of being “hell-bent connected hiding the truth” and reiterated that the nonaccomplishment to merchandise each the Epstein documents by Friday’s deadline amounts to “breaking the law”.

Meanwhile, officials from the Trump medication person been publicising the photographs featuring erstwhile Democratic President Clinton and hailing the existent authorities arsenic “the astir transparent successful history”.

Can campaigners instrumentality further steps to get much of the documents?

In a statement, Schumer said Senate Democrats are moving “closely with attorneys for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and with extracurricular ineligible experts to measure what documents are being withheld and what is being covered up by [US Attorney General] Pam Bondi”.

Representatives Robert Garcia and Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrats connected the House Oversight and Judiciary committees, said they are examining “all ineligible options” aft “the Department of Justice is present making wide it intends to defy Congress itself.”

“Donald Trump and the Department of Justice are present violating national instrumentality arsenic they proceed covering up the facts and the grounds astir Jeffrey Epstein’s decades-long, billion-dollar, planetary enactment trafficking ring,” Garcia and Raskin said successful a statement.

Senator Ron Wyden, different apical Democrat connected the Senate Finance Committee who investigated Epstein’s fiscal ties, said connected societal media that the nonaccomplishment to merchandise each the files was “a continuation of this administration’s coverup connected behalf of a clump of pedophiles and enactment traffickers”.

The Associated Press reported that if Democratic lawmakers truthful choose, they could spell to tribunal to unit the Justice Department to comply with the law. However, that would apt beryllium a lengthy process.

Separately, the House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena for the Epstein files, which could springiness Congress different avenue to unit the merchandise of much accusation to the committee. But that would necessitate Republicans to articulation them successful contempt-of-Congress proceedings against a Republican administration.