Epstein files live updates: Photos of Bill Clinton in hot tub and Michael Jackson in library of documents dumped by Trump’s DOJ
Justice Department launched a section of its website to house the thousands of pages of documents that will be added in the coming weeks
Thousands of documents from the Epstein files were released by the Department of Justice Friday but officials acknowledged that the release was incomplete, despite the deadline being set by law, prompting accusations of a cover-up.
The DOJ, led by former Donald Trump lawyer Pam Bondi, dumped a library of legal documents, paperwork and photos, which included multiple images of former President Bill Clinton lounging in a hot tub; and Jeffrey Epstein with a host of celebrities, including Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Richard Branson, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson.
Around 4 p.m. ET, the Justice Department posted thousands of documents to its website, where so many people were trying to access the documents at the same time, the site required users to wait in a queue for access.
The photos were undated and many documents were heavily redacted, stripping context for much of what was made public today.
Being photographed with Epstein, or mentioned in documents, does not suggest wrongdoing.
Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 in federal jail while awaiting trial, was a wealthy and powerful financier.
The convicted sex offender was accused of sexually abusing and trafficking women and girls for years, alongside his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
In pictures: Trump arrives in North Carolina for rally speech
U.S. Attorney told judges his office 'rigorously reviewed' files published today
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton wrote to the judges overseeing Epstein and Maxwell’s cases, stating that his office “rigorously reviewed” the files that were published today and determined that none contain “personally identifiable” victim information, or other information that would “constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy.”
He also said there could be “over redactions” as the Justice Department erred on the side of caution in the compressed time frame.”
AOC slams the partial release: 'Now the coverup is out in the open. This is far from over.'
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) slammed the Department of Justice only partially releasing the files.
Ocasio-Cortez posted on X about the partial release.
“Now the coverup is out in the open,” she said. “This is far from over. Everyone involved will have to answer for this. Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, whole admin. Protecting a bunch of rapists and pedophiles because they have money, power, and connections.”
RECAP: Trump’s DOJ releases heavily redacted batch of Epstein files full of blacked out pages and photos of Ghislaine Maxwell and Bill Clinton
Thousands of documents from investigations into Jeffrey Epstein have finally been released by Donald Trump’s administration after months of public pressure.
While an initial round of long-awaited documents includes a vast library of salacious images and photographs of high-profile figures, it remains unclear whether they shed any new light on Epstein’s crimes and his alleged connections to a sex trafficking ring implicating prominent officials who exploited and abused young girls.
Disclosures related to the Epstein Files Transparency Act include hundreds of undated photographs, including from inside Epstein’s Manhattan apartment and on his private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Photographs submitted by law enforcement investigating the inside of his New York property include sex toys and costumes, images of women exposing themselves, folders full of photographs of nearly naked women, and nude paintings and sculptures of women’s breasts.
Alex Woodward has the story.
Trump’s Justice Department publishes heavily redacted Epstein files
Epstein survivor attorney calls for ‘accountability’ as abuse victim says she’s not ‘tremendously confident’ all files will be released
Gloria Allred, an attorney for victims of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, asked in a CNN interview Friday, “The question is: ‘Is there a cover-up?’ What are they hiding? What is in there that perhaps some powerful people would not like revealed?”
“Why are the survivors fighting to have the release of all of the files? And the reason is because they want accountability. If there are rich, powerful, famous men who engaged in or assisted in or conspired to sex traffic underage girls, they want to know who those people are,” Allred said.
One of the survivors, Maria Farmer —who said the FBI ignored her when she reported the sexual abuse she had faced allegedly at the hands of Epstein in 1996 — wrote in a statement issued earlier Friday that she was “hopeful” that the release of government files related to Epstein would be “an important step for many of the survivors and to hold the government accountable for their grotesque law enforcement failure.”
The Justice Department then released thousands of documents, but not all of them as required by law. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said earlier in the day that it would take a “couple of weeks” to release everything his agency had to produce.
CBS News Justice Correspondent Scott MacFarlane shared a quote from Annie Farmer, Maria’s sister, who says she was also sexually abused by Epstein: “I don't feel tremendously confident that everything will come out... there's been a lot of effort, money & time put into redactions. Not to protect victims, but to protect people in power.”
NEW: Trump ignores reporters questions on Epstein
President Donald Trump briefly spoke to reporters this evening but ignored questions about the Epstein files.
He made a brief statement about cuts to drug costs and said talks with insurance companies are in the works.
Trump is due to speak at a rally in North Carolina later tonight to talk about the economy.
Framed photos of Trump and Melania appear in Epstein files
Framed photographs of President Donald Trump and the first lady Melania Trump feature in the Epstein documents released by the Justice Department today.
No accusations of wrongdoing have been made against the president, who has claimed he parted ways with Epstein as friends years ago.
In one of the photographs, which was taken inside a desk drawer, Trump appeared to be pictured alongside a group of smiling women in a grainy photograph.
The women's identities are not redacted.
In another of the framed photos in the desk drawer, which is partially obscured from view, Trump and Melania are pictured with Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
That image has already been in the public domain.
Another image of Trump, Melania and Epstein was also taken on Epstein’s desk.
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie: 'Release grossly fails to comply' with the law
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) the leading Republican who authored legislation on releasing the Epstein files, slammed today’s document dump.
Massie quote-tweeted his partner on the legislation, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, criticizing the partial release.
Epstein Survivor: 'It's exposing us all over again' - continued post
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During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump said he would release files related to Epstein, who died in police custody in 2019 when Trump was first president.
“And so I knew going into this and just how Trump likes to play his little tactics. I knew with all the obstacles we've already rendered and the administration's flip-flop, I already knew that we were not going to see the files as we should be getting them,” she said.Robson and a number of survivors of Epstein's abuse came to Capitol Hill in September and then again in November to lobby for the passage.
The House eventually passed the discharge petition forcing the Department of Justice to release the files.
Many of the critics of the law said that releasing the files would put victims' identity at risk.
“My name has never been redacted, I was never protected, and I met Jeffrey when I was 16," she said. “That's when I encountered him, and it was abused by him, and I was in his orbit for two years.”
Robson criticized how names were redacted but other salacious details were released in the files.
“I mean, you're releasing salacious photos of sex toys, but you're redacting information,”she said. “It's exposing us all over again, or exposing the girls that aren't redacted all over again. And it just it makes me feel like you are showcasing the world exactly why we never wanted to come out in the first place.”
In addition, Robson said Congress needs to take action.
“We need to find out how we're going to handle that and what consequences are going to fit for that crime, because he is committing a crime now,” she said.
Robson said Congress needed to go after Epstein's estate for files that are not in the custody of the Department of Justice because some girls were trafficked through other ways such as car services.
“So all of this, when you follow the money, you're following the system in which he was able to keep the trafficking abroad, and how he financially was able to back it,” she said.
“And that's the important thing, is who he paid and who paid him in large amounts.”
Robson also said that she wanted to file a lawsuit since she said the administration and the Department of Justice led by Pam Bondi had not complied with the legislation.
“I told my attorneys that there has to be consequences on every level. It can't just be consequences on the men who trafficked and abused us. It has to be consequences to the system, which the system is, what you're seeing now, and how they're basically pivoting and dragging their feet,” Robson said, adding that Trump is now breaking the law.
“The only other thing you can do to hurt these people is unfortunately, come after their pockets, because that's all they care about,” she said.
“We need to start getting these corporations banks, and we need to bankrupt everybody who's trying to stop us. Yeah, that's how we're going to tear down the system is removing the financial means for them to get away with this.”
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Epstein Survivor: 'It's exposing us all over again'
Haley Robson, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein, wanted to be in Washington, D.C. for the day that the files related to the man who abused her would be released.
But the death of her father and his funeral meant she could not do so. The Independent spoke to Robson about the release of the files.
Robson was one of the women who came to Washington to lobby for the release of the files.
“I try not to get too emotional or upset, because we've been held literally to every standard,” she said.
“The victims and survivors have had to go through immense obstacles over 30 years, trying to be heard, trying to be seen, trying to bring awareness, trying to get accountability.”
Robson voted for President Donald Trump, though said she now regrets it.
“This is not the first administration we've tried,” she said. “It's just the person in office was the one to, you know, campaign on releasing them.”
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