Jeffrey Epstein files appease almost no one as delays worsen

The Justice Department’s long-awaited rollout of the Jeffrey Epstein files has been a chaotic spectacle that, so far, has largely turned the spotlight back to his previously known associates, including President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton, while fueling frustrations.

As of Tuesday evening in Washington, the DOJ had released thousands of pages of heavily redacted records and photos — mostly in two batches several days apart — stemming from investigations of the convicted sex offender. On Wednesday, it said prosecutors in New York identified 1 million more documents potentially related to the probe and that processing the material “may take a few more weeks.”

Already, there have been technical snafus, and reversals on whether to keep certain pages public. Internet sleuths quickly found ways to see through some blacked-out passages.

But despite splashy headlines, new details on Epstein’s salacious lifestyle, and fresh conspiracy theories on social media, the piecemeal release has so far failed to sate the public’s appetite for more conspirators to be outed. Meanwhile, it’s drawing criticism on Capitol Hill for missing a Dec. 19 deadline and complaints from Trump that it’s unfairly tarnishing reputations.

Both Trump and Clinton, seen in pictures in the files, have repeatedly denied any knowledge of his crimes. While the former president appeared more frequently in the first batch — which White House officials publicly pointed out — Trump appeared more in the second. Mentions in the documents don’t mean someone did something wrong.

The Justice Department has said it organized a team of more than 200 attorneys to work on determining which information to release as it tries to comply with a law Congress passed last month.

“We have lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims, and we will release the documents as soon as possible,” the department said in a post on X on Wednesday. CNN, citing a memo to DOJ staff in Florida, reported that senior officials are seeking more volunteers to review documents over the holidays.

Here are some of the key takeaways so far:

Celebrity photos

The first tranche of documents released Friday included thousands of pages of pictures, phone records and notes from investigations into the notorious sex offender.

Photos of Clinton — shown soaking in a hot tub and also swimming with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell — garnered media attention, as did snapshots of the late musician Michael Jackson, who faced his own allegations of sexual abuse but was acquitted on criminal charges. Clinton’s spokesman said the manner in which the documents were released made clear that “someone or something is being protected.”

Other celebrities and business leaders in images have included Richard Branson, Kevin Spacey and Bill Gates. A Bank of America account statement for private equity titan Leon Black and his wife Debra appears in the tranche.

Branson, Spacey, Gates, Black or their representatives have denied knowing about or participating in inappropriate conduct with Epstein. Black has said he paid Epstein for advice on managing his wealth and taxes.

Wall Street connections

Documents released later shed more light on the connections Epstein was known to cultivate with prominent Wall Street figures.

One document showed that Jes Staley — who ran Barclays Plc before his Epstein ties spiraled into a lifetime ban from the U.K. finance industry — was listed in a 2014 will as one of the executors for the late pedophile’s estate.

Larry Summers, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary who stepped back from public commitments after lawmakers published years of correspondence between him and Epstein, was named as successor executor on that same document.

A spokesperson for Summers, who was previously a paid contributor to Bloomberg TV, said Tuesday that he had “absolutely no knowledge” that he was included in an early version of Epstein’s will. Summers has said he regretted his relationship with Epstein.

A representative for Staley didn’t respond to a request for comment on the will. Staley has previously said he hadn’t known of Epstein’s “abhorrent” behavior. And during a hearing he said he refused to be executor for Epstein’s estate.

The documents also shed new light on the role played by Staley’s prior employer, JPMorgan Chase & Co., one of the banks that has faced lawsuits and congressional scrutiny over its relationship with Epstein. For instance, the new files showed records for a JPMorgan account Epstein used to transfer money to Ghislaine Maxwell.

Draft indictment

More than a decade before his death, Epstein faced the prospect of a much harsher prosecution that never came to pass.

Federal officials prepared an indictment of Epstein in 2007 that would have charged him with sex trafficking, and grand jurors heard months of testimony on the case, which accused the financier of abusing girls as young as 14.

The indictment has never been released, and it’s not clear whether the grand jury was ever asked to vote on it. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida ultimately set aside the draft to negotiate a non-prosecution agreement in which Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to two lesser prostitution charges in state court.

He served 13 months of an 18-month sentence. Brad Edwards, an attorney who represented about 200 Epstein victims, said that if federal prosecutors had gone ahead with the indictment, “it would have saved a lot of people.” Grand jury transcripts reveal that prosecutors weighed indicting Epstein and three employees, as well as his companies that owned his Boeing 727 and his Gulfstream jet.

Alexander Acosta, the former U.S. attorney who oversaw the decision not to bring federal charges after the first investigation, has said he was concerned that state law might better apply, and some victims might not have withstood attacks on their credibility if the case went to trial.

In a statement, Acosta attorney Jeffrey Neiman said federal prosecutors and the Palm Beach State Attorney’s Office acknowledged “evidentiary challenges” at the time.

“Mr. Acosta took responsibility for approving the final resolution, admitting that relying on the state system was a mistake,” Neiman said. But he said, “Epstein served jail time, registered as a sex offender, and was ordered to compensate victims, sending a message to the community that Epstein’s conduct was unacceptable.”

Fighting to continue

The Justice Department’s disclosures so far seem to satisfy no one. Delays and heavy redactions have prompted Congressional Democrats and some Republicans to say the administration is in violation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law mandating the release.

A recent Quinnipiac Poll shows 55% of Republicans surveyed said they approved of Trump’s handling of the matter, compared with large majorities of Democrats and independents who don’t approve. In all, 65% of those surveyed said they don’t approve of Trump’s handling of the matter.

The Justice Department has cited the difficulty in reviewing and redacting documents to protect Epstein survivors and announced just before the Dec. 19 deadline that it would dribble out the documents in the coming weeks.

The unexpected gradual release has fueled conspiracy theories and political attacks that ruptured parts of Trump’s base and animated Democrats. The dynamic now seems poised to continue well into 2026.