The Trump administration on Friday released the first significant tranche of records from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) long-guarded investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The release, mandated by the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act, includes thousands of pages of documents and hundreds of previously unseen photographs.
Among the most high-profile figures featured in the initial batch are former President Bill Clinton and the late "King of Pop" Michael Jackson.
One of the most striking images shows Clinton lounging in a hot tub. Other photographs show Clinton in various social settings with Epstein and swimming with Epstein's convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. One photo show Clinton and Epstein standing side-by-side in "shiny party shirts."
Michael Jackson also appears in the trove, pictured alongside Clinton and singer Diana Ross in a social setting.
Other luminaries identified in the photo collection include Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, illusionist David Copperfield, and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson.
The Justice Department’s actions didn’t bring the saga to a close. The department said additional files will be released in the coming weeks, citing the sheer volume of material that couldn’t be processed by the Friday deadline set by Congress, which the Democrats rebuked.
Despite the administration’s claim of being the "most transparent in history," the release has sparked immediate controversy. Large portions of the documents, including over 300 pages of grand jury testimony are entirely blacked out. The DOJ stated these redactions were necessary to protect the identities of victims and the integrity of ongoing investigations.
The initial tranche arrived heavily redacted, a step the department said was meant to comply with legal provisions, including protections for survivors and other accommodations.
The disclosure followed Congress’s overwhelming passage of legislation in November requiring the department to make the files public. President Donald Trump had long resisted the move but ultimately relented, signing the bill amid mounting pressure from Republican lawmakers.
In the latest release of the documents, there are very limited references to Donald Trump himself, primarily in the form of already-public contact lists and flight logs, according to The Guardian.
As the public and legal experts begin to sift through the data, the White House has promised that more files will be released on a rolling basis. For now, the first batch has only intensified the demand for full transparency regarding the powerful network that surrounded Jeffrey Epstein for decades.
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