Attorney General Pam Bondi on Feb. 27 declassified and publicly released the first phase of files related to the investigation and conviction of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after the Justice Department head found that the FBI withheld some of the documents.
Bondi released the first batch of files on Thursday in conjunction with the FBI. Epstein was convicted of sexually abusing and exploiting more than 250 underage girls in his homes in New York, Florida, and other locations. The initial batch of files contains “documents that have been previously leaked but never released in a formal capacity by the U.S. Government,” according to the Justice Department.
“This Department of Justice is following through on President Trump’s commitment to transparency and lifting the veil on the disgusting actions of Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators,” Bondi said in a statement.
“The first phase of files released today sheds light on Epstein’s extensive network and begins to provide the public with long overdue accountability.”
The release contains documents that have largely been circulating in the public domain for years and did not include significant revelations about Epstein and his operations.
The batch of files includes copies of logs from the wealthy financier’s private plane, which have long been accessible in various court cases, and a photocopy of an address book with significant redactions that was seemingly complied by Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell and has been reported on by the media for many years.
Within the documents was also a redacted list of masseuses in states including Florida, New Mexico, and California, and an evidence list with more than 150 items. The list includes nude images, massage tables, adult toys, and other items. There was no indication of whether the list was created during Epstein’s court case, Maxwell’s, or another investigation.
While the Justice Department said it was releasing the documents publicly to show its commitment to transparency, the lack of new information garnered criticism from lawmakers.
“I nor the task force were given or reviewed the Epstein documents being released today… A NY Post story just revealed that the documents will simply be Epstein’s phonebook,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) wrote in a post on X after the files were released.
Luna called the release a “complete disappointment” and suggested the disclosure was not what the American public asked for in demanding transparency on Epstein.
“Get us the information we asked for!” she wrote in capital letters.
Bondi had said earlier on Thursday that she found the FBI withholding some files related to Epstein’s case, and sent a letter to Kash Patel, the new director, giving the bureau until 8 a.m. Friday to deliver all remaining files to the Justice Department.
“There will be no withholdings or limitations to my or your access,” she wrote.
The FBI’s national press office did not respond to a request for comment by publication time, nor did the FBI’s New York City office answer the phone or return a voicemail.
In the file release, Patel included a statement on the purported missing files.
“There will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned — and anyone from the prior or current Bureau who undermines this will be swiftly pursued. If there are gaps, we will find them. If records have been hidden, we will uncover them,” Patel wrote.
“And we will bring everything we find to the DOJ to be fully assessed and transparently disseminated to the American people as it should be.”
In 2008, Epstein was convicted of procuring a minor for prostitution after being accused of abusing dozens of underage girls in the early 2000s. He served 13 months in jail at the time but was indicted on federal charges in New York in 2019. Epstein had secretly struck a deal with federal prosecutors in Florida to remove similar charges of sex trafficking.
Much of the material related to the lawsuits and investigations into Epstein had already been publicly known. Those documents included mentions of President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Britain’s Prince Andrew, and magician David Copperfield, whose name appears on a handwritten list of “important e-mail/addresses.”
After Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019, the Justice Department’s Inspector General issued a report indicating that a “combination of negligence, misconduct, and outright job performance failures” by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and jail workers allowed Epstein to take his own life while on suicide watch.
No evidence of foul play was discovered, according to the watchdog report.
Still, many have questioned the circumstances around Epstein’s death, leading to speculation and numerous theories.
Shortly after Epstein was found dead, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) issued a series of 23 posts on Twitter over a roughly eight-hour window criticizing the impeachment investigation into Trump. The first letter of all the posts taken together spells: “Epstein didn’t kill himself.”
Zachary Stieber and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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