NEW YORK (AP) — Newly disclosed government files on Jeffrey Epstein are offering more details about his interactions with the rich and famous after he served time for sex crimes in Florida, and on how much investigators knew about his abuse of underage girls when they decided not to indict him on federal charges nearly two decades ago.
The documents released Friday include Epstein’s communications with former White House advisers, an NFL team co-owner, and billionaires including Bill Gates and Elon Musk. President Donald Trump’s Justice Department said it would be releasing more than 3 million pages of documents along with more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images under a law intended to reveal most of the material it collected during two decades of investigating the wealthy financier.
The files, posted to the department’s website, included documents involving Epstein’s friendship with Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, and Epstein’s email correspondence with onetime Trump adviser Steve Bannon, New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch, and other prominent contacts with people in political, business, and philanthropic circles.
Other documents offered a window into various investigations, including ones that led to sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019 and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell in 2021, as well as an earlier inquiry that found evidence of Epstein interacting with underage girls but never resulted in federal charges.
Draft indictment detailed Epstein’s abuse
The FBI started investigating Epstein in July 2006, and agents expected him to be indicted in May 2007, according to the newly released records. A prosecutor wrote up a proposed or draft indictment after multiple underage girls told police and the FBI they had been paid to give Epstein sexualized massages. The draft, included in the latest batch of documents, indicated prosecutors were preparing to charge not just Epstein but also three people who worked for him as personal assistants.
According to interview notes released Friday, an employee at Epstein’s Florida estate told the FBI in 2007 that Epstein once had him buy flowers and deliver them to a student at Royal Palm Beach High School to commemorate her performance in a school play. The employee, whose name was redacted, reported assisting Epstein in fanfare around $100 bills, placing a gun between the mattresses in his bedroom, and cleaning up after Epstein’s frequent massages with young girls, which included disposing of used condoms.
Ultimately, the U.S. attorney in Miami at the time, Alexander Acosta, signed off on a deal that let Epstein avoid federal prosecution. Epstein pleaded guilty instead to a state charge of soliciting prostitution from someone under age 18 and received an 18-month jail sentence. Acosta was later appointed as Trump’s labor secretary.
Famous names show up in Epstein’s emails
The records have thousands of references to Trump, including emails where Epstein and others shared news articles about him, commented on politics, or gossiped about him and his family. A spreadsheet from August summarized uncorroborated tips from people claiming to have knowledge of wrongdoing by Trump. Mountbatten-Windsor’s name appears repeatedly in the released records, as reflected in news clippings, Epstein’s private emails, and guest lists for dinners Epstein organized.
The records also show Musk reached out to Epstein at least twice to plan visits to a Caribbean island where much of Epstein’s alleged sexual abuse purportedly occurred. There was uncertainty concerning whether those visits took place. Musk’s representatives did not respond to requests for comment but stated he had repeatedly rebuffed Epstein’s overtures.
Epstein also appears to have tried to connect Tisch with women according to emails. Tisch later expressed regret about his connections with Epstein, expressing that he had a “brief association” and “never went to his island.”
Epstein's relationships extended to numerous public figures, including former Obama White House general counsel Kathy Ruemmler, who received advice from him criticizing Democrats for demonizing Trump.
Records build on government’s earlier release
Last month, the release of tens of thousands of pages included flight logs showing Trump flew on Epstein’s jet in the 1990s and photographs of former President Bill Clinton. None of Epstein’s publicly known victims have accused Trump or Clinton of wrongdoing, both of whom claimed ignorance of Epstein’s criminal activities.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in August 2019, a month after being indicted. Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
U.S. prosecutors never charged anyone else in connection with Epstein’s abuse. One victim, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, had a civil lawsuit against Mountbatten-Windsor, alleging sexual encounters beginning at age 17, which the prince denied. Giuffre passed away at age 41, reportedly by suicide last year.
The documents released Friday include Epstein’s communications with former White House advisers, an NFL team co-owner, and billionaires including Bill Gates and Elon Musk. President Donald Trump’s Justice Department said it would be releasing more than 3 million pages of documents along with more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images under a law intended to reveal most of the material it collected during two decades of investigating the wealthy financier.
The files, posted to the department’s website, included documents involving Epstein’s friendship with Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, and Epstein’s email correspondence with onetime Trump adviser Steve Bannon, New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch, and other prominent contacts with people in political, business, and philanthropic circles.
Other documents offered a window into various investigations, including ones that led to sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019 and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell in 2021, as well as an earlier inquiry that found evidence of Epstein interacting with underage girls but never resulted in federal charges.
Draft indictment detailed Epstein’s abuse
The FBI started investigating Epstein in July 2006, and agents expected him to be indicted in May 2007, according to the newly released records. A prosecutor wrote up a proposed or draft indictment after multiple underage girls told police and the FBI they had been paid to give Epstein sexualized massages. The draft, included in the latest batch of documents, indicated prosecutors were preparing to charge not just Epstein but also three people who worked for him as personal assistants.
According to interview notes released Friday, an employee at Epstein’s Florida estate told the FBI in 2007 that Epstein once had him buy flowers and deliver them to a student at Royal Palm Beach High School to commemorate her performance in a school play. The employee, whose name was redacted, reported assisting Epstein in fanfare around $100 bills, placing a gun between the mattresses in his bedroom, and cleaning up after Epstein’s frequent massages with young girls, which included disposing of used condoms.
Ultimately, the U.S. attorney in Miami at the time, Alexander Acosta, signed off on a deal that let Epstein avoid federal prosecution. Epstein pleaded guilty instead to a state charge of soliciting prostitution from someone under age 18 and received an 18-month jail sentence. Acosta was later appointed as Trump’s labor secretary.
Famous names show up in Epstein’s emails
The records have thousands of references to Trump, including emails where Epstein and others shared news articles about him, commented on politics, or gossiped about him and his family. A spreadsheet from August summarized uncorroborated tips from people claiming to have knowledge of wrongdoing by Trump. Mountbatten-Windsor’s name appears repeatedly in the released records, as reflected in news clippings, Epstein’s private emails, and guest lists for dinners Epstein organized.
The records also show Musk reached out to Epstein at least twice to plan visits to a Caribbean island where much of Epstein’s alleged sexual abuse purportedly occurred. There was uncertainty concerning whether those visits took place. Musk’s representatives did not respond to requests for comment but stated he had repeatedly rebuffed Epstein’s overtures.
Epstein also appears to have tried to connect Tisch with women according to emails. Tisch later expressed regret about his connections with Epstein, expressing that he had a “brief association” and “never went to his island.”
Epstein's relationships extended to numerous public figures, including former Obama White House general counsel Kathy Ruemmler, who received advice from him criticizing Democrats for demonizing Trump.
Records build on government’s earlier release
Last month, the release of tens of thousands of pages included flight logs showing Trump flew on Epstein’s jet in the 1990s and photographs of former President Bill Clinton. None of Epstein’s publicly known victims have accused Trump or Clinton of wrongdoing, both of whom claimed ignorance of Epstein’s criminal activities.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in August 2019, a month after being indicted. Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
U.S. prosecutors never charged anyone else in connection with Epstein’s abuse. One victim, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, had a civil lawsuit against Mountbatten-Windsor, alleging sexual encounters beginning at age 17, which the prince denied. Giuffre passed away at age 41, reportedly by suicide last year.
