WASHINGTON: The U.S. Justice Department on Friday made public thousands of documents connected to disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but the long-awaited disclosure raised fresh questions rather than offering clarity. The heavily redacted files place former Democratic president Bill Clinton prominently in view, while references to President Donald Trump are limited and sporadic.
The muted presence of Trump in the latest release has drawn notice, particularly because his name and imagery have appeared intermittently in earlier Epstein disclosures over several years. In February, for instance, Trump was listed in flight manifests from Epstein’s private jet included in an initial document dump by the Justice Department.
Friday’s partial release was carried out under pressure from a law passed overwhelmingly by Congress in November, which required the disclosure of all Epstein-related material despite months of resistance from the Trump administration. The Epstein issue has since become a political liability for Trump, who previously amplified conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein to energize his political base.
How much new information the documents actually contain remains uncertain. A substantial portion of Epstein-related material has already been made public since his 2019 death in a Manhattan jail, officially ruled a suicide. Many of the newly released files are almost entirely obscured some documents running more than 100 pages are fully blacked out and the Justice Department said it is still reviewing hundreds of thousands of pages for potential future release.
The document release coincided with other developments in Washington’s security agenda. Shortly afterward, the U.S. military launched airstrikes against dozens of Islamic State targets in Syria, retaliating for an attack on American personnel.
The Epstein files include material from multiple investigations, as well as photographs of Clinton, who has long been a target of Republican criticism. By contrast, the documents appear to contain few photographs or records referencing Trump, despite his well-documented social relationship with Epstein during the 1990s and early 2000s, before the two reportedly fell out ahead of Epstein’s first conviction in 2008. Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing and has repeatedly said he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
“This Isn’t About Bill Clinton”
The Justice Department appeared to place particular emphasis on Clinton’s presence in the files, with two agency spokespersons posting images on social media that they claimed showed the former president in proximity to Epstein’s victims.
Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, Angel Urena, pushed back sharply, accusing the White House of deflecting attention from its own vulnerabilities.
“They can release as many grainy, 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton,” Urena said in a statement.
Last month, Trump ordered the Justice Department to examine Clinton’s ties to Epstein, a directive critics viewed as an attempt to redirect scrutiny away from Trump’s own past association with the financier.
Among the images released on Friday are photographs showing Clinton in a swimming pool with Ghislaine Maxwell and another individual whose face has been obscured, as well as a separate image of Clinton sitting in a hot tub with what appears to be another unidentified person. Clinton has previously acknowledged regret over his social interactions with Epstein and has said he was unaware of any criminal behavior.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress in a letter that the files reference more than 1,200 victims or their relatives, whose identities must be redacted for privacy and safety reasons.
In a statement, the White House said the release demonstrated transparency and a commitment to justice for Epstein’s victims, while criticizing previous Democratic administrations for failing to act. The statement did not mention that the disclosures came only after Congress forced the administration’s hand, following earlier assurances by Trump officials that no additional Epstein files would be released.
Lawmakers from both parties quickly voiced frustration. Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the release represented “just a fraction of the whole body of evidence,” pointing to the extensive redactions.
Republican Representative Thomas Massie, a key driver of the disclosure legislation, went further, writing on X that the release “grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law.”
The legislation requires the Justice Department to turn over records detailing how it handled the Epstein investigation, including internal reports and emails. None of those materials were included in Friday’s batch. While the law allows the withholding of victim information and material tied to ongoing investigations, critics argue the scope of the redactions goes well beyond those limits.
Growing Frustration Among Trump Supporters
Discontent has also surfaced within Trump’s own political base. Many supporters have accused his administration of protecting powerful figures linked to Epstein and obscuring the circumstances surrounding his death while he was awaiting trial on charges of trafficking and sexually abusing underage girls.
A recent media poll found that only 44 percent of Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the Epstein issue, far below his overall 82 percent approval rating within the party. The controversy has eroded Trump’s political standing as the 2026 midterm elections approach, with control of Congress at stake.
Last month, House Democrats released thousands of emails obtained from Epstein’s estate, including one in which Epstein claimed Trump “knew about the girls,” without offering further explanation. Trump dismissed the release as part of what he called the “Epstein Hoax,” accusing Democrats of manufacturing a distraction.
House Republicans responded the same day by releasing additional emails, including one asserting that Trump visited Epstein’s home on multiple occasions but “never got a massage.”
Earlier disclosures have shown that Epstein continued corresponding with influential figures even after his 2008 conviction, including former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, former Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, PayPal founder Peter Thiel, and Britain’s former Prince Andrew, now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who lost his royal titles over his links to Epstein. Representatives for Bannon, Thiel and Mountbatten-Windsor have not responded to WNN requests for comment.
The financial fallout from Epstein’s crimes has also been significant. In 2023, JPMorgan agreed to pay $290 million to settle claims by Epstein’s victims, who alleged the bank ignored warning signs of his sex-trafficking activities. The bank kept Epstein as a client for five years after his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor.
—Sarah N. Joseph and Andy Sullivan
