U.S. Justice Department releases thousands of Jeffrey Epstein files, heavy redactions, Clinton photos, scant mention of Trump
The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday released thousands of heavily redacted documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein, offering new images and records that featured former President Bill Clinton while making scant reference to President Donald Trump. The partial disclosure, mandated by a law Congress passed last month over White House objections, arrived after months of resistance from the administration to unsealing additional Epstein material.
- Advertisement -
Much of the trove was blacked out, with several documents of 100 pages or more rendered almost entirely unreadable. The department said it is still reviewing hundreds of thousands of additional pages for possible release. It was not immediately clear how much the new tranche adds to what has already surfaced since Epstein’s 2019 death in a Manhattan jail, ruled a suicide while he awaited trial on charges of trafficking and abusing underage girls.
The files include evidence from several investigations into Epstein and a cache of photographs showing Clinton alongside Ghislaine Maxwell and others, as well as images of celebrities Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and Mick Jagger. They appear to contain few, if any, photos of Trump or documents that mention him, despite his well-known social ties with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s prior to a reported falling out before Epstein’s 2008 conviction. Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing and has denied knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. His name did appear earlier this year in flight manifests released by the department as part of a February document batch.
Two Justice Department spokespeople highlighted photos of Clinton on social media, prompting a sharp response from Clinton’s former deputy chief of staff, Angel Ureña, who accused the administration of trying to deflect scrutiny. “They can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton,” Ureña said. Last month, Trump ordered the department to investigate Clinton’s ties to Epstein, a move critics cast as an effort to shift the focus away from Trump’s own past association.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress that more than 1,200 victims or their relatives must be redacted from the files. The disclosure law allows withholding of personally identifying information and materials that could jeopardize ongoing investigations. It also requires the department to turn over records about its handling of the Epstein investigation, including internal reports and emails—documents that did not appear in Thursday’s batch.
Lawmakers in both parties criticized the scope and opacity of the release. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, called it “just a fraction of the whole body of evidence.” Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican who championed the legislation, said the release “grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law.”
The White House said the disclosure underscored its commitment to transparency and justice for victims, while critics noted it came only after Congress mandated the release following earlier administration statements that no further files would be made public.
The politics around the Epstein files have weighed on Trump. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that just 44% of Republicans approved of his handling of the issue, compared with his 82% overall approval among Republicans—numbers that have unsettled allies ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Last month, House Democrats released emails obtained from Epstein’s estate, including one in which Epstein wrote that Trump “knew about the girls,” without elaboration. House Republicans countered with messages asserting Trump visited Epstein’s home many times but “never got a massage.”
Previous disclosures have shown Epstein continued corresponding with prominent figures even after his 2008 conviction, including former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, PayPal founder Peter Thiel and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew. JPMorgan Chase paid $290 million in 2023 to settle claims it ignored red flags about Epstein while keeping him as a client for five years after his conviction.
Thursday’s release, with its extensive redactions and missing internal records, leaves key questions unanswered about how federal authorities managed the Epstein investigation—and ensures the political battle over what remains hidden will continue as more documents are reviewed for public disclosure.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
