The United States Justice Department on Friday began releasing long-awaited records linked to its investigations into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, opening a politically charged chapter that many had pressed to see made public.
While the release included photos and documents tied to Epstein’s social life, much of the material was heavily blacked out, raising fresh doubts over whether the disclosure would bring full clarity to the case.
Among the files are photographs showing former Democratic president Bill Clinton alongside other well-known figures, including Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson, all linked to Epstein’s social circle.
The documents were issued under close control by officials serving under President Donald Trump, with sweeping redactions across many pages. The level of censorship quickly fueled skepticism about whether the release would calm long-running claims of a high-level cover-up.
One document lists 254 masseuses across seven pages, but every name is hidden under thick black bars. The pages carry a note stating the names were “redacted to protect potential victim information.”
Despite this, the records still offer a limited view into Epstein’s close ties with wealthy and powerful figures, including Trump.
Several files contain censored photographs of naked or lightly dressed people. Others show Epstein and companions posing with firearms, their faces concealed. Newly released images include Ghislaine Maxwell with disgraced former prince Andrew, pictured lying across the legs of five people.
Another photo shows a youthful-looking Clinton relaxing in a hot tub, with part of the image blocked out. In a separate image, Clinton is seen swimming beside a dark-haired woman believed to be Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The White House quickly responded to Clinton’s appearance in the files.
“Slick Willy! @BillClinton just chillin, without a care in the world. Little did he know...” Communications Director Steven Cheung posted on X.
Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, Angel Urena, rejected suggestions of selective blame and called for accountability.
“The country expects answers, not scapegoats.”
“The White House hasn't been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton. This is about shielding themselves,” Urena said in a statement posted to X.
Democrats in Congress said the disclosure failed to meet the requirements of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The law directed the government to publish the full case file by Friday, allowing redactions only for legal reasons and victim privacy.
“This set of heavily redacted documents released by the Department of Justice today is just a fraction of the whole body of evidence,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
“Simply releasing a mountain of blacked-out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law. For example, all 119 pages of one document were completely blacked out.”
Other Democratic lawmakers said the government did not release a draft indictment prepared after Epstein’s 2019 arrest. They argue the document would point to “other rich and powerful men who were on Epstein's rape island.”
Trump, who once counted Epstein as a close friend while living near him in Palm Beach, Florida, spent months attempting to block the release of the records. Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
After pressure from Congress, including members of his own party, Trump last month signed the law ordering the files to be made public.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said several hundred thousand documents would be released by the deadline, with more expected in the coming weeks. He said prosecutors could still withhold records linked to active investigations and confirmed that redactions were also made to protect the identities of Epstein’s many victims.
Trump previously moved in the same Palm Beach and New York social circles as Epstein during the 1990s and appeared with him at public events. He cut ties years before Epstein’s arrest and faces no claims of wrongdoing in the case.
Still, the Epstein case has long been a focus among Trump’s supporters, who believe the financier ran a sex trafficking network serving global elites.
During his campaign, Trump pledged to release all the records. After returning to office, he dismissed the push for transparency as a “Democrat hoax.”
His Justice Department later triggered political backlash with a memo stating there would be no further disclosures and that Epstein’s alleged “client list” did not exist, before the president reversed course.
Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend, remains the only person convicted in connection with his crimes. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting underage girls for Epstein, whose death was ruled a suicide.
