The U.S. Attorney General, Pamela Bondi, in collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), declassified and released documents today related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his sexual exploitation of more than 250 minors at his residences in New York and Florida, among other locations. This release marks the first phase of the declassified files, which include documents that had previously been leaked but were never formally presented by the U.S. Government.
Much of the information, such as flight records, the address book, and Epstein’s accusations, has already been made public through court filings.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi emphasized that this action is a significant step toward transparency, in line with the commitment made by President Donald Trump.
“This Department of Justice is fulfilling President Trump’s commitment to ensuring transparency and shedding light on the disgusting actions of Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplices,” Bondi stated in a press release. “The first phase of the released files today sheds light on Epstein’s extensive network and begins to provide the public with the long-awaited accountability.”
Meanwhile, FBI Director Kash Patel highlighted the importance of this new phase for the agency, emphasizing that integrity, accountability, and the pursuit of justice will guide future investigations.
“We are entering a new era defined by integrity, accountability, and the relentless pursuit of justice,” Patel stated. “There will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned.
If there are gaps, we will find them. If records have been concealed, we will uncover them. And everything we find will be submitted to the Department of Justice to be fully reviewed and transparently disclosed to the American people, as it should be.”
According to the statement, Attorney General Bondi requested the full release of the Epstein-related files. In response, the Department of Justice received approximately 200 pages of documents; however, Bondi was later informed that thousands of additional pages related to Epstein’s investigation and indictment had not been previously disclosed.
The Attorney General has demanded that the FBI release the remaining documents by 8:00 AM on February 28 and has tasked Director Patel with investigating why the request to deliver all documents was not fulfilled.
Over the years, thousands of police records have been made public without revealing much new information. (Some have been redacted or sealed to protect the victims and due to ongoing civil and criminal litigation).
Two senior Department of Justice officials, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak officially, told NBC News that there would be very little new information, given how much has already been made public.
Epstein died by suicide in August 2019 in a New York jail weeks after being arrested by federal agents on sex trafficking charges.
The billionaire, who had connections in the highest political and economic circles in the United States and other countries, had already been convicted of sex crimes involving minors, to which he pleaded guilty in 2008.
By avoiding trial through his suicide, part of the American public demanded that the Department of Justice release the list of Epstein’s accomplices and clients. They also called for the publication of the flight logs of Epstein’s private jet to the private island he owned in the Virgin Islands, where some of the abuses allegedly took place.
Epstein’s most prominent accomplice was British heiress Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for supplying minors to billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, enabling him to sexually abuse them for over a decade.
Epstein had close ties to high-profile figures such as former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom, who in 2022 reached a multi-million-dollar settlement with one of the victims, who accused him of sex offenses when she was a minor.
