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THE US DEPARTMENT of Justice began releasing thousands of documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday and Saturday.
The tranche of documents, which include photos, footage and files related to investigations into Epstein, were published ahead of a deadline that was mandated by Congress.
But there has been considerable criticism from Democrats, Republicans and victims of Epstein due to many of the files being heavily redacted, along with the Justice Department not making all of the files public at once.
Here’s what we know so far about the latest batch of documents.
The US Justice Department shared a link to the so-called ‘Epstein Library‘ on Friday, containing roughly 3,900 documents. More files were subsequently uploaded on Saturday.
It includes four groups of documents: court records, disclosures from the DOJ, freedom of information requests and disclosures from a US House oversight committee.
Many of the photos contained in the files show Epstein with a number of famous faces from the political world, Hollywood and beyond.
No context was provided by the Justice Department about the contents of the photos, and being named or pictured in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing.
The photos that received the most attention over the weekend showed former US president Bill Clinton, including one of him in a swimming pool with Ghislaine Maxwell and another in a hot tub along with another person whose identity has been redacted.
A spokesperson for Clinton accused the White House of using the Democrat as a scapegoat, saying that sharing the images was “about shielding themselves from what comes next”.
A black and white photo of former British prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lying across the laps of a number of women whose faces have been redacted also appeared in the files. Ghislaine Maxwell can be seen in the background of the photo.
Former British ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson, who was sacked by UK prime minister Keir Starmer in September for his association with Epstein, can also be seen in photographs.
Other famous people pictured include singer Diana Ross, Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, actor Kevin Spacey, businessman Richard Branson and the late popstar Michael Jackson.
Besides celebrities, the files also contain images of Epstein and Maxwell with women whose identities have been redacted, along with fully redacted images of women, FBI search warrants of his home, handwritten notes and a scrapbook.
The US President features minimally in the latest batch of documents.
One image shows a desk with framed photographs on top of it. In the drawer of the desk, a photograph of Trump standing with a number of women can be seen. The photo was removed from the library over the weekend along with a handful of other photos, which sparked criticism.
The photo has since been restored, with the Justice Department stating that it had been flagged “for potential further action to protect victims” and temporarily removed for further review, which found that none of the women pictured were victims of Epstein.
Separately, Trump’s name appears in court documents related to a civil case filed against Epstein by a woman named only as Jane Doe in 2020.
In the documents, it is alleged that Epstein introduced her to Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in 1994, when she was 14 years old.
It reads: “Epstein elbowed Trump playfully asking him, referring to Doe, “This is a good one, right?” Trump smiled and nodded in agreement. They both chuckled and Doe felt uncomfortable, but, at the time, was too young to understand why.” The case ended in a settlement with Epstein’s estate in 2021.
Hundreds of documents that were released on Friday were either partially or completely redacted.
One 119-page document entitled ‘Grand Jury-NY was totally redacted, showing page after page of black rectangles.
Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed by Congress last month, redactions are permitted to protect victims’ identities, hide child sexual abuse material or to prevent any active investigations from being jeopardised.
But while some of the files appear to redact the names of victims, it’s not clear in every case why the information in the files was blacked out. The Justice Department is required to provide a list of redactions and their legal basis within 15 days of the release.
The Justice Department has said that documents and photos “will continue to be reviewed consistent with the law and with an abundance of caution for victims and their families”, and denied redacting the names of any politicians.
No date has been set for further files to be released, but the Justice Department has said it will continue to release files over the coming weeks.
Democrats senator Chuck Schumer complained that the heavily redacted documents was just a fraction of the whole body of evidence.
“Simply releasing a mountain of blacked out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law,” Schumer said.
On the Republican side, lawmaker Thomas Massie, who co-sponsored the law forcing the release of the files with Democrat Ro Khanna, accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of “withholding specific documents.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who has shifted sides and resigned from Congress, said: “The whole point was NOT to protect the ‘politically exposed individuals and government officials’.”
Responding to criticism over all of the files not being released publicly before the 30-day deadline, US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said more time was needed in order to ensure that the identities of victims were protected.
“We want to make sure that when we do produce the materials we are producing, that we are protecting every single victim,” he told Fox News.
With reporting from © AFP 2025
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