What to remember about millions of newly released Epstein files
Sakshi VenkatramanAnd
Kwasi Gyamfi Aduadu Adudua
Millions of new records relating to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the most documents shared by the government since a law mandated their release last year.
Three million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos were published on Friday.
The publication came six weeks after the ministry missed a deadline signed into law by US President Donald Trump who demanded that all documents related to Epstein be shared with the public.
“Today’s release marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process designed to ensure transparency and respect for the American people,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche.
The files include details of Jeffrey Epstein’s time in prison – including a psychological report – and his death while incarcerated, as well as investigative files on Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s associate who was convicted of helping him traffic underage girls.
They also include emails between Epstein and high-profile figures.
Many of the emails and documents date back more than a decade, shedding light on Epstein’s dealings amid his legal troubles. He was convicted in 2008 in Florida of soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl after striking a controversial deal with prosecutors.
He died in August 2019 while in prison facing charges in a massive sex trafficking case.
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Epstein invited ‘the Duke’ to meet a Russian woman
The documents highlight the disgraced financier’s close ties to Britain’s elite.
Another message from Epstein includes an offer to introduce “The Duke” to a 26-year-old Russian woman.
The emails are signed “A”, with a signature that appears to read “HRH Duke of York KG”. They were exchanged in August 2010, two years after Epstein pleaded guilty to solicitation of a minor.
In the latest released file, there is also a photo that appears to show the former prince kneeling on all fours over a woman lying on the ground.
There are also emails between Epstein and Mountbatten-Windsor dated February 2011, which put even more holes in Andrew’s assurances that he had cut off contact with Epstein the previous year.
The emails do not indicate any wrongdoing.
The BBC has contacted Andrew, formerly known as the Duke of York, for a response. Mountbatten-Windsor has faced years of scrutiny over her past friendship with Epstein. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
US Department of Justice
Emails from “Sarah, the redhead”
Some emails in the latest version appear to be between Epstein and Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s ex-wife.
An email dated April 4, 2009 was signed “Love, Sarah, The Redhead.!!”
It was said that she was going to be in Palm Beach and wanted to have tea. The email goes on to discuss ideas for Ferguson’s company, Mother’s Army. The former Duchess of York refers to Epstein as “My dear, spectacular and special friend Jeffrey.”
She calls him a “legend” and says “I’m so proud of you.”
Also in 2009, another email exchange shows the then Duchess of York enthusiastically informing Epstein of potential opportunities for his trademarks and books.
“Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I always wanted,” one email says.
The following year, another email from “Sarah” to Epstein overflowed with affection: “You are a legend. I really don’t have the words to describe, my love, your gratitude for your generosity and kindness,” she wrote.
“Xx, I am at your service. Marry me.”
The financier was still under house arrest for his 2008 conviction when the email exchanges were sent.
A few years later, in September 2011, the messages multiplied. The email address is redacted, but they are signed by “Sarah” and mention “Le Duc”.
The sender congratulates Epstein on the apparent birth of a child:
“I don’t know if you’re still on this bbm [BlackBerry Messenger] but I heard from the Duke that you have a baby boy,” the first email said.
“Even if you never stayed in touch, I am still here with love, friendship and congratulations. [sic] on your little boy. Sarahxx.”
A follow-up message was then sent to Epstein eight minutes later.
“You are missing,” the email said. “I didn’t even know you were having a baby. It was so clear to me that you were only friends with me to get to Andrew. And that really hurt me deeply. More than you know.”
It has never been publicly confirmed that Epstein had children.
There are also hundreds of mentions of Richard Branson, the British founder of the Virgin Group, in the files. In an email exchange from 2013, Branson appears to tell Epstein that it was “really nice” to see him, adding, “Anytime you’re around, I’d love to see you. As long as you bring your harem!”
Virgin Group clarified that the term “harem” referred to three adult members of Epstein’s team, adding: “Any contact that Richard and Joan Branson had with Epstein occurred only on a few occasions more than twelve years ago and was limited to a group or professional setting, such as a charity tennis event.” »
After Epstein sends an image, which cannot be seen in the file, Lajčák responds: “Why don’t you invite me to these games? I will take the girl ‘MI’.”
Appearance in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing.
Lajčák initially denied discussing the women with Epstein when the files were released Friday, according to Slovak media. He later reportedly said he decided to resign to avoid politically harming Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Epstein paid money into accounts linked to Mandelson
Between 2003 and 2004, Epstein appears to have sent three separate payments of $25,000 referencing Lord Mandelson.
Lord Mandelson said he had no recollection or record of receiving the monies and did not know whether the documents were genuine.
In another series of emails, Lord Mandelson asks to stay at one of Epstein’s properties.
The emails date from June 16, 2009, when Epstein was serving a prison sentence for soliciting prostitution from a person under the age of 18. For much of his sentence, Epstein was allowed to work from his office during the day and returned to prison each night.
In December 2024, Lord Mandelson was appointed the UK’s ambassador to the US, but was sacked less than a year later when it emerged he had sent messages of support to Epstein following his conviction.
After the files were last published, Lord Mandelson resigned his membership of the Labor Party, saying he did not want to “cause further embarrassment”. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he should “not be a member of the House of Lords” and ordered an “urgent” investigation into Peter Mandelson’s contacts with Epstein.
Lord Mandelson has repeatedly said he regrets his past friendship with Epstein, which has long been public knowledge. He said he never saw any wrongdoing while he was with Epstein and that he “fell for his lies.”
Trump mentioned hundreds of times
The US president is mentioned hundreds of times in the recently released documents. Trump had a friendship with Epstein, but he says it deteriorated many years ago and has denied knowledge of his sex crimes.
Among the new documents is a list compiled by the FBI last year of allegations made against Trump by callers to its National Threat Information Line. Many of these reports appear to be based on unverified information received by the agency and were made without supporting evidence.
The list includes numerous sexual abuse allegations against Trump, Epstein and other high-profile figures.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing regarding Epstein and has not been accused of any crimes by Epstein’s victims.
Asked about the latest allegations, the White House and Justice Department pointed to a line from a press release accompanying the new batch of filings.
“Certain documents contain false and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI immediately before the 2020 election,” the US Department of Justice said.
“To be clear, these claims are unfounded and false, and if they had any credibility, they certainly would have already been used as a weapon against President Trump.”
Brett Ratner, who also directed the films Rush Hour and X-Men: The Last Stand, can be seen sitting on a couch next to Epstein and two women whose identities have been obscured.
There is no indication of wrongdoing in the records. The BBC has contacted Ratner’s representative for comment.
Elon Musk asked Epstein when his island’s ‘craziest party’ would take place
The documents also include email correspondence between Epstein and tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Musk, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the case, previously said Epstein invited him to his island but he declined.
The new emails show that Musk had discussed his trip there several times – including a planned trip in 2012 – during which he asked Epstein: “What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?” »
Emails from November 2012 show that Epstein asked how many people Musk would need to helicopter to the island and Musk responded that it would just be himself and his then-wife, Talulah Riley.
An email from Musk to Epstein during Christmas 2012 includes Musk asking if the financier had planned a party because he needed to “let loose.”
“I’ve worked myself to the limit this year and so once my kids come home after Christmas I really want to go party in St. Barts or wherever and go wild,” he writes, adding that a “peaceful island experience” is the opposite of what he wants.
In another series of emails from late 2013, Musk and Epstein discuss a visit to the financier’s island and work out logistics and dates.
There is no evidence that Musk ended up taking a trip to Epstein’s island.
Musk said in an X message on Saturday that he was “well aware that some email correspondence with [Epstein] could be misinterpreted and used by his detractors to smear my name.”
He added: “That doesn’t matter to me, but what does matter to me is that we at least try to prosecute those who committed serious crimes with Epstein, particularly regarding the heinous exploitation of underage girls. »
Bill Gates dismisses Epstein’s lurid claims as ‘absurd and false’
A spokesperson for Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has responded to lurid allegations in Epstein’s latest filings – including that he contracted a sexually transmitted disease – calling them “absolutely absurd and completely false.”
Two emails from July 18, 2013 appear to have been written by Epstein, but it is unclear whether they were ever sent to Gates. Both were sent from Epstein’s email account and forwarded to the same account, while no email account associated with Gates is visible and both emails are unsigned.
One email is worded as a letter of resignation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and complains about having to provide Gates with medication “to deal with the consequences of having sex with Russian girls.”
The other, which begins “Dear Bill,” complains about the end of Gates’ friendship and further claims that Gates tried to cover up a sexually transmitted infection, including from his then-wife, Melinda.
A spokesperson for Gates told the BBC: “These claims – coming from a proven and disgruntled liar – are absolutely absurd and completely false. »
The He added: “The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration at not having an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to to frame and defame.”
Criticisms of victim identification
Gloria Allred, a women’s rights lawyer who has represented many of Epstein’s victims, told the BBC that the names of many survivors had been disclosed in the latest statement, including some who had not previously been publicly identified.
“In some cases…they have a line between the names but you can still read the names,” she said. “In other cases, they showed photos of victims – survivors who never gave a public interview, who never gave their name publicly.”
Many of the documents released Friday have heavy redactions. The law requires that redactions can only be made to protect victims or information currently under investigation. It also requires a summary of the deletions made and their legal basis.
The Justice Department said it was “working around the clock to address victims’ concerns, additional redactions of personally identifiable information, as well as any records requiring additional redactions under the law, to include sexual images.”
Allred said that while his legal team worked to inform the department of where additional redactions were needed to protect survivors’ identities, “many people have already downloaded the files.”
Have all the Epstein files now been released?
It is not certain that this is the end of the saga of the publication of the Epstein documents.
Blanche said Friday’s decision “marks the end of a very comprehensive process of identification and review of documents,” signaling that as far as the U.S. Department of Justice is concerned, the work is done.
However, Democrats continue to argue that the department withheld too many documents – perhaps around two and a half million – without proper justification.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, who spearheaded the Epstein Files Transparency Act alongside Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, said he was cautious.
“The DOJ said it identified more than 6 million potentially responsive pages, but would only release about 3.5 million of them after review and removal,” he said.
“This raises the question of why the rest is withheld.”
The DOJ had come under close scrutiny after missing a Dec. 19 deadline to release all records, as required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law in November.
But it remains to be seen whether this saga is over.
Many – including within Trump’s base – have long believed in the existence of a conspiracy to protect the rich and powerful linked to Epstein.
Speaking to ABC on Sunday, Blanche said that aside from a “small number of documents” that could be released if a judge approves, the DOJ’s review of Epstein-related cases “is complete.”
Additional reporting by Jack Fenwick, Chi Chi Izundu and Amy Walker
