US Epstein files full of famous names, but not Trump’s

By Brad Heath, Sarah N. Lynch, Andy Sullivan and James Oliphant

WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (Reuters) – The thousands of documents released by the U.S. Justice Department related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were filled with the names of some of the world’s most famous people, including former President Bill Clinton, but there was one notable exception: President Donald Trump.

The department released only a partial tranche of the Epstein-related documents in its possession on Friday with much of the information within them redacted, citing the extensive effort required in reviewing the materials and the need to protect Epstein’s victims.

Trump’s administration was attempting to comply with a law overwhelmingly passed by Congress in November that mandated the disclosure of all Epstein files, despite Trump’s months-long effort to keep them sealed.

The absence of references to Trump was notable given that pictures and documents related to him have trickled out of previous Epstein releases for years. Trump’s name appeared in flight manifests listing passengers on Epstein’s private plane that were part of a first batch of Epstein material the Justice Department released in February, for instance.

The release also contained other items of note, including a complaint accusing Epstein of involvement in “child pornography” that was filed with the FBI in 1996, long before law enforcement began looking into his misconduct.

Celebrities who appeared in photos made available as part of Friday’s release include the late news anchor Walter Cronkite, singers Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson and Diana Ross, British entrepreneur Richard Branson and the former Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson. Many of the photos were undated and provided without context, and none of those figures have been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor also appears in one photo lying across the laps of several women. The former Duke of York, who was stripped of his royal title over his ties to Epstein, has denied any wrongdoing.

HEAVY REDACTIONS AND A MISSING FILE

The scandal surrounding Epstein has become a political wound for Trump, who for years had promoted conspiracy theories about Epstein to his supporters.

It was not immediately clear how substantive the new materials were, given that many Epstein-related documents have previously been made public since his 2019 death in jail, which was ruled a suicide.

Many of the files were heavily redacted — several documents with 100 pages or more were entirely blacked out — and the Justice Department acknowledged it was still reviewing hundreds of thousands of additional pages for possible release.

The material included evidence from several investigations into Epstein, along with photos of Clinton, long scorned by Republicans. But they appeared to include few if any photos of Trump or documents mentioning him, despite Trump and Epstein’s well-publicized friendship in the 1990s and early 2000s before they had a falling out prior to Epstein’s first conviction in 2008.

Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing and has denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes.

One file with a photo of Trump appeared to have been removed on Saturday from the dataset released by the Justice Department. Its absence was noted online by Democrats in the House of Representatives, who demanded an explanation from the administration.

The department did not immediately respond to a query about the missing file.

Last month, Democrats in the House released thousands of emails obtained from Epstein’s estate, including one in which Epstein wrote that Trump “knew about the girls,” without clarifying what that meant. Trump, in response, accused Democrats of promoting the “Epstein Hoax” as a distraction.

‘THIS ISN’T ABOUT BILL CLINTON’

The Justice Department sought to draw attention to Clinton, with two agency spokespeople posting on social media images that they said showed him with Epstein victims.

Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, Angel Urena, said in a statement that the White House was attempting to “shield themselves” from scrutiny by focusing on the former president.

“They can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton,” he wrote.

In a statement, the White House said the release demonstrated its transparency and commitment to justice for Epstein’s victims. But the disclosures occurred only because Congress forced the administration’s hand, after Trump officials declared earlier this year that no more Epstein files would be made public.

The disclosure law required the Justice Department to turn over information about its handling of the Epstein investigation, including internal reports and emails. None of those materials appeared to be in the batch of documents the government released on Friday.

The law allowed the Justice Department to withhold personal information about Epstein’s victims as well as material that would jeopardize an active investigation.

Many Trump voters had accused his administration of covering up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and obscuring details surrounding his death in a Manhattan jail, where he was awaiting trial on charges of trafficking and abusing underage girls.

Just 44% of American adults who identify as Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the Epstein issue, compared to his 82% overall approval rating among the group, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. 

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward, Sarah N. Lynch, Julia Harte, Bhargav Acharya, Brad Heath, Andy Sullivan, Jeff Mason and Ryan Patrick Jones, writing by Joseph Ax and James Oliphant; editing by Ross Colvin, Scott Malone, Deepa Babington, Diane Craft, Gareth Jones, Sergio Non and Nick Zieminski)