The US Department of Justice began publishing the long-awaited records of the investigation into the explosive case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday (December 20, 2025), although many documents were redacted. The U.S. Department of Justice has released a total of 3,965 files, approximately 3 gigabytes in size, divided into four new datasets, which can be downloaded from its website.
The financier had excellent connections in high society, which sparked speculation about the extent of the scandal. A month ago, a law signed by President Donald Trump required the records to be disclosed, and the Justice Department released this first big batch of data just hours before the deadline.
Politicians and celebrities in photographs
Among the material released Friday, most of it in PDF format, are several photos showing former Democratic President Bill Clinton, whose ties to the tycoon Trump has already called for investigation, and other high-profile figures, including Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson, in the company of Epstein. However, many of the documents are largely redacted or redacted, raising doubts about whether the release will put to rest persistent conspiracy theories about a cover-up at the highest levels.
Still, the files shed some light on the disgraced financier’s close ties to high-ranking executives, celebrities and politicians, including President Trump. The massive trove of documents includes seven pages in which the names of 254 massage therapists are completely redacted, along with the statement: “redacted to protect information from potential victims.”
Complaints about the amount of censored information
Another file contains dozens of censored images showing nude or scantily clad figures. Others show Epstein and his companions with blurred faces and guns. The previously unreleased photos include one showing former Democratic President Bill Clinton lying in a hot tub, with part of the image obscured by a black rectangle.
Democrats were quick to express frustration over the censorship of published material. “This series of heavily redacted documents released today by the Justice Department is just a fraction of the total evidence,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. “For example, the 119 pages of a document were completely crossed out,” the lawmaker added.
There are no new research results
The existence of connections between these people and Epstein was known and the photos published so far do not appear to indicate any criminal behavior. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Blanche warned before the release that the documents would be partially redacted to protect victims and that no new allegations were expected in a case that has rocked the United States for months. “There are no new charges at the moment, but we are investigating,” Blanche said in an interview with Fox.
Blanche warned that due to their volume it would not be possible to release all legally required documents at once and expects the Justice Department to release “several hundred thousand more” files in the coming weeks.
LGC (afp, efe, dpa)
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