Unlocking the Epstein Files: A Guide to Accessing the Recently Released Documents

WASHINGTON — In compliance with a new federal mandate, the Justice Department has made public thousands of pages from its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. This action follows the enactment of a law requiring the government to disclose its records on the late financier.

The documents’ release comes in the wake of Congress passing, and former President Donald Trump signing, the Epstein Files Transparency Act. This law mandates that the Justice Department must release the records in an easily searchable and downloadable format within 30 days of the act’s passage.

The newly available files cover extensive investigations that spanned several years, focusing on Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving minors. Epstein’s extensive connections with affluent and influential individuals have long fueled public intrigue regarding the content of the government’s records.

Due to overwhelming interest, the Justice Department had to temporarily regulate access to its website hosting the Epstein files.

High interest led the Justice Department to regulate access to its Epstein files website for a time.

The webpage went live Friday afternoon with a waiting room-type queue akin to what concertgoers sometimes see when they go online to purchase tickets.

Visitors were greeted with the message: “You are in line for Department of Justice web content. When it is your turn, you will have 10 minutes to enter the website.”

The webpage then refreshed to reveal a landing page with various categories of documents, including court records and other disclosures.

The law signed by Trump last month set Friday as the deadline for the Justice Department to release most of its files about Epstein.

Ahead of the release, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News he expected several hundred thousand files to be released Friday, along with several hundred thousand more to come later.

But the number of files that actually landed on the Justice Department’s website seemed to be a thin slice of the total number expected. Blanche acknowledged in a letter to Congress that the production of files was incomplete. The department said it expected to complete its production of Epstein documents by the end of the year.

Among the documents made public are around 4,000 files — mostly photographs — under a subset the Justice Department described as “DOJ Disclosures.” The vast majority of the photographs were taken by the FBI during searches of Epstein’s homes in New York City and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Also included were images of envelopes, folders and boxes containing investigative materials from various probes related to Epstein. Many records are redacted and anything containing a victim’s personally identifiable information, including materials depicting sexual and physical abuse, isn’t authorized for release.

Various other files released by the Justice Department on Friday include court records, public records and disclosures to House committees. At least some of that material has already circulated in the public domain after years of court action and investigations.

Many of the most discussed photos from the files show the former Democratic president. Clinton has acknowledged that he traveled on Epstein’s private jet but said through a spokesperson that he had no knowledge of the late financier’s crimes.

Some of the photos show Clinton on a private plane, including one with a woman sitting on his lap. Her face is redacted from the photo.

Another photo shows him in a pool with British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who has been convicted of luring young girls to Epstein so he could molest them, and with another person whose face is redacted. One shows him with the late pop star Michael Jackson, singer Diana Ross and a woman whose face is redacted.

And another shows Clinton in a hot tub with a woman whose face is redacted. The Justice Department did not explain how those photos were related to the criminal investigation.

Nevertheless, senior White House aides quickly called attention to them on X.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, wrote “Oh my!” and added a shocked face emoji in response to the photo of Clinton in the hot tub.

Angel Ureña, Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, said in an X post that “this isn’t about Bill Clinton” and accused the White House of trying to protect others.

“There are two types of people here,” he wrote. “The first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light. The second group continued relationships with him after. We’re in the first.”

Clinton has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and the mere inclusion of someone’s name or images in files from the investigation does not imply otherwise.

To some exploring the records released Friday, the most interesting parts were which high-profile figures appeared scarcely — or not at all.

For example, Trump is minimally referenced in the files, and the small number of photos that do show him appear to have been in the public domain for decades.

The release does include at least one photo of the former Prince Andrew, who appears in a tuxedo lying on the laps of what appear to be several women who are seated, dressed in formalwear. One of Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Giuffre, accused Epstein of arranging for her to have sexual encounters with men, including the prince.

Marina Lacerda, one of the women who says she survived sexual assault by Epstein, beginning when she was 14 years old, said Friday she wanted to see greater transparency from the Justice Department and expressed frustration over redactions and the incomplete release.

“Just put out the files,” she said. “And stop redacting names that don’t need to be redacted.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.