The U.S. Justice Department has released more than 300,000 pages of records from investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, responding to mounting political pressure and a new law compelling disclosure. The trove, posted online with redactions, immediately intensified a yearslong fight over transparency around the late financier and convicted sex offender’s connections to powerful figures.
It was not immediately clear how much of the material is new, given extensive disclosures since Epstein’s 2019 death in a New York jail, ruled a suicide. Among the files are several photos of former President Bill Clinton, including an image showing him in a swimming pool with Ghislaine Maxwell and another person whose face is obscured. Clinton, who has said he regrets socializing with Epstein and has denied knowledge of criminal activity, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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On the posting page, the Justice Department said “all reasonable efforts have been made” to redact victims’ personal information but cautioned that some details could be inadvertently revealed. In a letter to Congress, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said hundreds of thousands of pages were released and additional documents were still under review, a process he estimated would take two more weeks. He said the files identify more than 1,200 names tied to victims or their relatives.
The release followed months of internal Republican tension after former President Donald Trump initially urged GOP lawmakers to oppose the disclosure law, arguing that making sensitive investigative records public could set a dangerous precedent. Many of Trump’s staunchest supporters accused his administration of shielding Epstein’s ties to prominent individuals and obscuring circumstances around his death while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges involving underage girls.
Trump, who on the 2024 campaign trail pledged to declassify the government’s Epstein files if elected, has sought to move past the controversy to focus on cost-of-living issues ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections. Just 44% of Republicans approve of his handling of the Epstein issue, compared with his 82% overall approval within the party, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.
“By releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, and President Trump recently calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, the Trump Administration has done more for the victims than Democrats ever have,” the White House said in a statement.
The document dump followed a fresh round of disclosures by both parties in Congress. Democrats last month released thousands of emails obtained from Epstein’s estate, including one in which Epstein wrote that Trump “knew about the girls,” without elaboration. Trump labeled the development an “Epstein hoax.” House Republicans the same day released more emails, including one saying Trump visited Epstein’s house many times but “never got a massage.”
Two days later, Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate Epstein’s connections to Clinton and JPMorgan. The following week, despite White House pressure to delay a vote, lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to force the DOJ release, and Trump signed the measure into law. The legislation allows the department to withhold victims’ personal information and material that could jeopardize active investigations.
Trump was once friendly with Epstein before a mid-2000s falling out, prior to Epstein’s 2008 conviction. Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing and has denied knowing about Epstein’s sex trafficking.
Earlier disclosures show Epstein maintained contact with high-profile figures even after 2008, including former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, PayPal founder Peter Thiel and Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, who lost royal titles amid scrutiny over his ties to Epstein. Representatives for Bannon, Thiel and Mountbatten-Windsor did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Summers stepped back from positions at Harvard University, Open AI and other organizations and said he was deeply ashamed after House Democrats released documents in November indicating he corresponded with Epstein through 2019, at times seeking relationship advice.
JPMorgan in 2023 paid $290 million to some of Epstein’s victims to settle claims it ignored his sex trafficking. The bank kept Epstein as a client for five years after his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
