Hours before the statutory deadline, the Justice Department released the first part of hundreds of thousands of documents in the trial against financier Jeffrey Epstein, accused of maintaining a child abuse and human trafficking ring, and who died in 2019, while awaiting trial. Documents already released as part of the process offered clues about Epstein’s closeness to President Donald Trump, and many in the White House have made no secret of their fears over possible uncomfortable new revelations.
- Parties, models and silence: How the obsession with power, money and women brought Trump and Epstein together
- Look: Democrats release footage of Epstein’s Caribbean island home where sex crimes allegedly took place
The first batch of documents was made available on a page on the Justice Department portal called the “Epstein Library” — when GLOBO accessed it, it took a few moments due to the high volume of searches. The material includes statements, photos, emails, hearing transcripts, telephone recordings and news articles.
Some elements have already been released before, such as videos from the New York detention center where Epstein was found dead, while others shed light on the financier’s private life: there are, for example, images taken from the stage of a Rolling Stones concert and of his guests and friends sleeping on planes and sofas, but without context.
“This site contains materials that meet the requirements of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. This site will be updated if additional materials are identified for release,” reads text on the homepage, which warns against the presence of “descriptions of sexual assault.”
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Shortly before the broadcast, Todd Blanche, number two at the Department of Justice, told Fox News that only part of the documents would be made public this Friday. According to him, additional time is necessary to protect the aforementioned victims and eliminate information that could harm other ongoing investigations. Judges and lawyers connected to the case caution that no one should expect any big news regarding the case.
“By releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the subpoena requested by the House Oversight Committee, and recently responding to President Trump’s call for new investigations into Epstein’s Democratic friends, the Trump administration has done more for victims than Democrats ever have,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
Even though Jeffrey Epstein died more than six years ago, while awaiting trial in a New York cell, the financier has become one of the biggest thorns in the side of Donald Trump’s second term… and largely because of the Republican.
Over the decades, Epstein moved in the highest circles of American political and economic power and hosted well-known parties at his properties across the United States and the Caribbean. But in addition to his proximity to the American elite, the financier maintained a network of human trafficking and abuse of minors. The allegations were repeatedly suppressed and also involved his ex-girlfriend and business partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.
- Complex loops: Accused of child abuse, Epstein claimed Trump “knew about the girls” in emails released by the US Congress.
The case against Epstein is also at the origin of several conspiracy movements in the United States, which believe in the existence of an alleged client list of the millionaire, which would contain the names of some of his rivals in the Democratic Party, such as former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, as well as foreign businessmen and politicians. Among the documents released this Friday is a telephone directory containing the names of well-known and influential news figures, but which correspond to the vast network of contacts over the decades, and which was not considered by investigators as proof that they were “clients” of his network of abuse.
The story was repeated by Trump during his recent campaign for the White House last year, and he promised to release the list if elected. Back in the presidency, he doubled down and Justice Secretary Pam Bondi even said the document was on her desk, about to be made public. A few months later, Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel acknowledged that the list did not exist.
- Analysis: After the Epstein affair, Republicans begin planning the post-Trump political future in the United States
The explanation was not enough for much of the Trumpist base, which also supported conspiracy theories. Republican congressmen and senators demanded the disclosure of all documents relating to the affair and threatened certain important votes. Democrats took advantage and joined the chorus, hoping to reap electoral dividends next year, when the House and part of the Senate come up for renewal.
Just as some documents began to be released revealing an uncomfortable closeness between Trump and Epstein (the president assures that they both severed their ties more than 20 years ago), the government was forced to relent and accept the release of all records held by the Justice Department, through a law approved in Congress and sanctioned by Trump.
The 30-day deadline expired on Friday and the US capital was experiencing a mix of expectations and fears, particularly from members of the government: White House officials told reporters that they believed there was no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing on Trump’s part.
— There is no attempt to omit anything because of the name Donald Trump, or anyone else, the name Bill Clinton, the name Reid Hoffman (businessman). There is no attempt to omit or not omit anything because of this — Blanche told ABC News.
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