2 hours ago
3
Washington — The Justice Department disclosed thousands of files and photos related to precocious enactment offender Jeffrey Epstein connected Friday, pursuing years of unit from lawmakers and maltreatment survivors for much transparency into the government's investigations into the disgraced financier.
The records were released successful accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which passed past period and required the authorities to merchandise virtually each Epstein-related files wrong 30 days.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said much files volition beryllium released "over the adjacent mates of weeks," adjacent though the instrumentality required the documents to beryllium disclosed by Friday. It's not wide what documents were omitted from Friday's release, oregon why.
Where to find the Epstein files
The files that were disclosed Friday nether the Epstein Files Transparency Act are disposable connected the Justice Department's website, breached into 4 antithetic information sets. The full fig of files is astir 3,900, astir each of which are PDFs.
CBS News is besides uploading the records to a searchable database, which is disposable here, though galore of the files are photos, not substance documents.
Here are the Justice Department's records:
What's successful the caller Epstein files?
Thousands of the files are images, including photos that were seemingly taken successful Epstein's mansion successful Manhattan oregon his backstage land successful the U.S. Virgin Islands. Those see photos of his chamber successful New York, his risque partition creation and a taxidermied tiger.
Many photos amusement Epstein socializing with his convicted associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. Former President Bill Clinton also appears successful respective of the images — successful immoderate cases, the erstwhile president is posing with celebrities similar Michael Jackson and Mick Jagger. A spokesperson has acknowledged that Clinton traveled with Epstein connected respective occasions, but says helium was not alert of Epstein's crimes.
Some of the photos are redacted — successful definite cases, they amusement Epstein posing with radical whose faces are obscured.
There are besides a fig of investigative documents with redactions.
Will immoderate of the Epstein files beryllium redacted oregon near out?
The instrumentality that requires the Justice Department to merchandise the files lone allows redactions nether constrictive circumstances, including to instrumentality retired Epstein survivors' idiosyncratic information, convulsive images oregon kid intersexual maltreatment material. The authorities is besides allowed to temporarily withhold records that "would jeopardize an progressive national probe oregon ongoing prosecution."
Records cannot beryllium withheld solely due to the fact that they would origin "embarrassment, reputational harm, oregon governmental sensitivity."
It's not wide if — oregon however wide — the Justice Department has utilized those exemptions. The instrumentality requires the section to springiness Congress a database of its redactions wrong 15 days.
What was Epstein investigated for and charged with?
The files that were released Friday are expected to stem from the litany of investigations surrounding Epstein and Maxwell, stretching backmost astatine slightest 20 years.
Allegations astir Epstein's behaviour appeared to look connected the government's radar arsenic aboriginal arsenic the 1990s, erstwhile subsister Maria Farmer says she reported to the FBI that Epstein had abused her. In a lawsuit, she has accused the authorities of failing to look into her allegations.
Epstein was investigated by section constabulary successful Florida and national prosecutors starting successful the mid-2000s. That probe ended with a arguable 2007 woody successful which national prosecutors successful Miami agreed not to complaint him, successful speech for a blameworthy plea connected prostitution charges successful authorities court.
More than a decennary later, Epstein was charged successful New York national court with abusing and trafficking dozens of underage girls. Maxwell was charged with enactment trafficking conspiracy the pursuing year, and was convicted astatine proceedings and sentenced to 20 years successful prison.
Files from respective different probes could beryllium made public. The authorities has investigated the circumstances surrounding Epstein's decease successful a Manhattan jailhouse portion awaiting proceedings successful 2019, officially ruled a suicide. And it has investigated Miami prosecutors' determination to chopped a non-prosecution deal.
Why the Epstein files are being released now
The files are being released nether the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Congress passed and President Trump signed into instrumentality successful November. The authorities gave the lawyer wide 30 days to publically merchandise documents related to Epstein, his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, the government's investigations into some and interior records astir the cases.
The authorities was the effect of years of unit from Epstein and Maxwell's survivors, who pushed lawmakers for much transparency astir however the authorities handled some of their cases. Epstein's decease fueled conspiracy theories astir his connections to high-powered figures successful authorities and the concern world.
The calls for transparency reached caller heights implicit the summer. The Justice Department conducted a reappraisal of the Epstein files successful the government's possession, and concluded that determination was nary "client list" oregon grounds that helium had blackmailed salient figures. The findings infuriated galore of the president's supporters who had been calling for the merchandise of the Epstein files for years, and opened the doorway for a bipartisan propulsion to unveil the records.
California Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat, was the pb sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. He introduced the measure successful July, and GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky filed a discharge petition aimed astatine forcing a ballot connected the measure. The propulsion was delayed by absorption from House Speaker Mike Johnson and the authorities shutdown successful the fall. But successful November, the petition received the last signature required to bring the measure up for a vote.
It passed the House by a ballot of 427 to 1 and the Senate unanimously approved it. President Trump signed it into instrumentality connected Nov. 19, contempt spending months pressuring Republicans to reason it, starting the timepiece connected the 30-day deadline.
In the aftermath of Congress' transition of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, 3 abstracted judges approved Justice Department requests to unseal expansive assemblage transcripts from investigations into Maxwell and Epstein. One of those rulings stemmed from expansive assemblage proceedings successful South Florida successful 2005 and 2007. Epstein yet escaped national charges determination and alternatively agreed to plead blameworthy to authorities prostitution charges.
The different 2 court orders came from judges successful New York, wherever Epstein and Maxwell were charged successful 2019 and 2020, respectively.
When volition the adjacent radical of Epstein files beryllium released?
It's unclear. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News earlier Friday that the section would merchandise much files "over the adjacent mates of weeks."
"We are looking astatine each azygous portion of insubstantial that we are going to nutrient making definite each unfortunate — their name, their identity, their story, to the grade that it needs to beryllium protected — is wholly protected," Blanche said.
That timeline does not comply with the law, which required the merchandise of each eligible files by Dec. 19. The department's bureau of nationalist affairs said earlier Friday's merchandise that the "initial deadline is being met arsenic we enactment diligently to support victims."
Blanche's comments, and the department's nonaccomplishment to merchandise each of the files, angered galore Democrats who person harshly criticized the medication for its handling of the documents. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the apical Democrat connected the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the apical Democrat connected the Oversight Committee, accused the Trump medication of violating the instrumentality and suggested they could instrumentality ineligible action.
"Donald Trump and the Department of Justice are present violating national instrumentality arsenic they proceed covering up the facts and the grounds astir Jeffrey Epstein's decades-long, billion-dollar, planetary enactment trafficking ring," Raskin and Garcia said successful a associated statement. "For months, Pam Bondi has denied survivors the transparency and accountability they person demanded and merit and has defied the Oversight Committee's subpoena. The Department of Justice is present making wide it intends to defy Congress itself, adjacent arsenic it gives prima attraction to Epstein's convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell."
Raskin and Garcia said they are "examining each ineligible options" fixed Blanche's earlier admission.
"The survivors of this nightmare merit justice, the co-conspirators indispensable beryllium held accountable, and the American radical merit implicit transparency from DOJ," they said.
English (US) ·