He United States Department of Justice started on Friday publish the expected records of research on the Explosive case of sex offender Jeffrey Epsteinalthough many documents were censored.
Epstein, a financier linked to the New York elites and convicted in 2008 for prostitution of minorswas found hanged in prison in 2019 before another sex crimes trial began. His death fueled countless conspiracy theories according to which would have been murdered to cover up prominent personalities.
Among the material that began to be published on Friday there is multiple photographs showing the former Democratic president Bill Clinton and other high-profile figures, including Mick Jagger y Michael Jacksonin the company of Epstein.
Former President Bill Clinton, with Michael Jackson and Diana Ross, one of the photos published by the Department of Justice. / HANDOUT / AFP
Black studs and checks
But a large part of the documents have large sections crossed out or with black boxesfueling doubts about whether the publication will put an end to persistent conspiracy theories about a cover-up at the highest level.
Still, the archives shed some light on the Disgraced financier’s close ties to high-profile executives, celebrities and politicians, including President Trump.
The enormous amount of documents includes seven pages with the list of names of 254 masseuses which are completely crossed out, along with the explanation: “redacted to protect information from potential victims.”
Photograph without a specific date of shooting, published by the Democrats of the House Oversight Committee (Oversight Dems), showing Jeffrey Epstein (i) with an unidentified woman on a plane. / EFE / Oversight Dems
Nudes and weapons
Another file contains dozens of censored images showing naked or scantily clad figures. Others show Epstein and companions, with their faces blurred, with firearms.
Previously unreleased photos include one of the former Democratic president Bill Clinton lying in a jacuzziwith part of the image obscured by a black rectangle.
Another sample Clinton swimming with a dark-haired woman who appears to be Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
In another image, Maxwell appears with the former British Prince Andrewportrayed while lying down on the legs of five people.
Government representatives were quick to take advantage of Clinton’s appearances.
Some of the blacked-out documents the Trump Administration has released about the Epstein case. / Jon Elswick / AP
Attacks on Clinton
“@BillClinton just relaxing, without a care in the world. Little did he know…” White House communications director Steven Cheung posted on X.
“Oh, God!” added press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
However, Democrats expressed frustration over censorship of published material.
“This set of heavily redacted documents released today by the Department of Justice is only a fraction of the whole of testing,” said Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“For example, the 119 pages of a document were completely blacked out“added the legislator.
The existence of links between these people and Epstein was known and the photos that had been published so far do not appear to portray criminal behavior.
There are no new charges
Assistant federal prosecutor Todd Blanche warned before publication that the documents will be partially redacted to protect the victims, and that no new accusations are expected in this case that has shaken the United States for months.
“At the moment there are no new charges, but we are investigating,” Blanche declared during an interview with the Fox network.
Trump, who was a friend of Epstein in the pasttried for months to prevent the publication of the files held by the Department of Justice, despite having campaigned in 2024 with the promise of total transparency on the topic.
He finally gave in to pressure from Congress, including that of his Republican Party, and on November 19 he enacted a law requiring the publication of the materials within 30 days, a period that ended at midnight this Friday.
Blanche also said that they are expected “several hundred thousand” of more documents “in the coming weeks”.
“Democratic deception”
Last week, Democratic legislators had already published photos in which Epstein was seen in the company of Clinton, businessmen such as Bill Gates o Richard Bransonand of filmmaker Woody Allen. Trump also appears, accompanied by women with their faces covered.
Trump frequented the same circles She attended Palm Beach and New York parties with Epstein, and appeared with him at events throughout the 1990s. She severed ties years before Epstein’s arrest in 2019 and does not face any charges in the case.
But his more conservative base has long been obsessed with the Epstein saga and conspiracy theories alleging that the financier ran a sex trafficking ring for the global elite.
During the election campaign, Trump promised to release all the files. However, after returning to the White House, he dismissed these calls for transparency as a “Democratic hoax.”
The Epstein Files Transparency Act requires the Justice Department to release all unclassified documents in its possession regarding the case. This includes what is linked to the financier, his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwellwho is serving a sentence of 20 in prison for recruiting minorsand all people involved in the judicial proceedings.
“Simply posting a mountain of blacked out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law,” Schumer said.
