The Justice Department has released over 3.5 million pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, exposing a web of communications between the convicted sex trafficker and some of the world’s most powerful people.
The files include emails, text messages, photos, videos and investigative records that name presidents, billionaires, royalty and political operatives who maintained contact with Epstein for years, in some cases long after his 2008 conviction.
The release, mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act signed by President Trump in November 2025, represents the largest disclosure of Epstein-related materials ever made public. It has already triggered resignations, forced public apologies and sparked fresh demands for accountability from both political parties.
The Scope of the Release
The DOJ published more than 3 million pages of documents on January 30, 2026, along with over 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. The materials were collected from five primary sources: the Florida and New York cases against Epstein, the New York case against Ghislaine Maxwell, investigations into Epstein’s death, a Florida case involving a former Epstein butler, multiple FBI investigations and the Office of Inspector General’s probe into how Epstein died in his jail cell.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that the release fulfills the government’s obligations under the transparency act. But lawmakers including Representative Ro Khanna, who co-authored the legislation, dispute that claim. Khanna said the DOJ identified over 6 million pages as potentially responsive to the law but released only half that amount.
Bill Gates: Emails Claim “Ethically Unsound” Activities
Among the most explosive revelations are emails Epstein sent to himself in 2013, in which he claimed to have been Bill Gates’ “right hand” and participated in activities that were “ethically unsound.” In one typo-filled message, Epstein wrote that he had been “asked on mulitple occassion and in hindsight, wrongly acquiesced into participating in things that have ranged from the morally inappropriate, to the ethically unsound.”
Epstein claimed those activities included “helping Bill to get drugs, in order to deal with consequences of sex with russian girls, to facilictating his illicit trysts, with married women, to being asked to provide adderal.”
A Gates spokesperson called the allegations “absolutely absurd and completely false.” Gates himself addressed the files in an interview with 9 News Australia, saying he “regrets every minute” he spent with Epstein. “Apparently, Jeffrey wrote an email to himself. That email was never sent; the email is false,” Gates said. “It just reminds me, every minute I spent with him I regret, and I apologize that I did that.”
The Wall Street Journal previously reported in 2023 that Epstein tried to threaten Gates after discovering an alleged affair with a Russian bridge player named Mila Antonova. Neither Gates nor Antonova has confirmed the affair.
Steve Bannon: Hundreds of Texts, Hours of Video
The files reveal that Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist, exchanged hundreds of text messages with Epstein and conducted hours of video interviews with the sex offender for a planned documentary. The documentary was intended to rehabilitate Epstein’s image before his 2019 arrest on federal trafficking charges.
In one text exchange from May 2019, Bannon bragged to Epstein about secretly launching a private border wall project near El Paso. “My wall dude, New Mexico, right outside El Paso, in total secret, we go on fox and friends on Monday to release,” Bannon wrote. He explained they started construction over Memorial Day weekend “after the courts closed” to avoid potential legal intervention.
Bannon later faced federal criminal charges over that border wall project but received a pardon from Trump in the final hours of his first term.
Other messages show Bannon sought Epstein’s help funding European far-right parties, including Italy’s League party under Matteo Salvini and France’s National Rally under Marine Le Pen. In a March 2019 message before EU elections, Bannon wrote he was “focused on raising money for Le Pen and Salvini so they can actually run full slates.”
Emails from late 2018 show Epstein gifted Bannon and his son identical Hermes Apple watches worth $1,499 each. The released video interview shows Bannon asking Epstein: “What are you, class three sexual predator?” Epstein, for his part, refused to take responsibility for his crimes throughout the conversation, telling Bannon: “No, that would probably mean I would be too self-aware.”
Elon Musk: Emails About Visiting Epstein’s Island
Emails from 2012 and 2013 show Elon Musk communicated with Epstein about potentially visiting his private island in the Caribbean, the location of many alleged sexual abuse incidents. Epstein inquired in one email about how many people Musk would like flown by helicopter to the island. Musk responded it would likely be just him and his partner at the time.
Musk has maintained he rejected Epstein’s overtures. “Epstein tried to get me to go to his island and I REFUSED,” he posted on X in 2025. The files do not show evidence Musk actually visited the island.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick: Business Ties and Island Invitation
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appears in documents showing he was in business with Epstein as recently as 2014. The files also reveal Epstein invited Lutnick to his island in December 2012. Lutnick’s wife enthusiastically accepted the invitation, saying they would arrive on a yacht with their children.
A Commerce Department spokesperson said Lutnick “had limited interactions with Mr. Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing.” Lutnick has previously called Epstein “gross” and claimed he cut ties decades ago.
Prince Andrew: New Photos Surface
The latest materials include previously unseen photos of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, appearing on all fours over an unidentified woman lying on the ground. Both are clothed in the images, and no context for when or where the photos were taken has been provided.
Andrew’s name appears hundreds of times in the files, including private emails where Epstein appeared to try setting him up for dates. In one 2010 exchange, Epstein wrote: “I have a friend who I think you might enjoy having dinner with.”
Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, claimed Epstein and Maxwell trafficked her to the prince when she was 17. Andrew has denied any wrongdoing and was never charged. Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the new materials.
Bill Clinton and Jeff Bezos: Party Attendance
An October 2009 email from New York publicist Peggy Siegal to Epstein mentioned an after-party at Ghislaine Maxwell’s house following an unnamed film screening. “Bill Clinton and Jeff Bezos were there,” she wrote.
The files also include a 2016 deposition where Epstein was asked questions about Clinton and invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination for every question about the former president.
A Clinton spokesperson previously stated the former president took four trips on Epstein’s plane in 2002 and 2003 for Clinton Foundation business, with staff, supporters and Secret Service on every leg. Both Bill and Hillary Clinton initially refused subpoenas to testify before Congress about Epstein but have since agreed to appear.
Trump: Hundreds of Mentions, FBI Complaint Included
President Trump’s name appears thousands of times throughout the documents, mostly in emails where Epstein and others shared news articles about him or gossiped about his family. The files include a 2009 deposition from Epstein’s former house manager stating Trump “never” stayed overnight at Epstein’s Palm Beach home and never got a massage there.
The DOJ release also contains an FBI form detailing a complaint from an anonymous woman who accused Trump of rape when she was 13 years old. This accuser previously filed and withdrew lawsuits against Trump, most recently right before the 2016 election. The DOJ explicitly stated in its release that some documents “contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election” and called those claims “unfounded and false.”
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and says he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago two decades ago. He has never been accused by law enforcement of any crime related to Epstein.
Other Notable Names
The files contain communications with numerous other prominent figures:
Larry Summers, the former Harvard president and treasury secretary, exchanged emails with Epstein in 2017 gossiping about Trump and insulting the president’s intelligence. Summers was also named as executor in an early version of Epstein’s will, though a spokesperson said he had no knowledge of this. Summers has since left the board of OpenAI and stopped teaching at Harvard.
Kathryn Ruemmler, the former White House counsel under Obama and current Goldman Sachs general counsel, wrote in a 2015 email: “I adore him. It’s like having another older brother!” Ruemmler has said she “regrets ever knowing Jeffrey Epstein.”
Richard Branson told Epstein in 2013 he’d be happy to meet any time “as long as you bring your harem!” He also counseled Epstein to get Bill Gates to vouch for him after Epstein registered as a sex offender.
Deepak Chopra resigned from his position after email exchanges with Epstein became public. He acknowledged “poor judgment” and said he was “deeply saddened by the suffering” of victims.
Brad Karp, chairman of law firm Paul Weiss, also resigned his post after his emails with Epstein surfaced, calling the issue a “distraction” for the firm.
Brett Ratner, director of Melania Trump’s new Amazon documentary, appears in photos lying on a sofa with Epstein as they both embrace young women. The photos surfaced one day after Ratner appeared at the film’s red carpet premiere. Ratner said he did not have a personal relationship with Epstein.
International Fallout
The files have triggered political crises abroad. Slovakia’s national security adviser Miroslav Lajčák resigned on January 31 after his communications with Epstein surfaced. He characterized his interactions as “strictly professional and social” but acknowledged “poor judgment.”
In Norway, two high-profile politicians and the country’s crown princess have been linked to Epstein, triggering a political storm. French documents show communications between Epstein and advisers to former president Nicolas Sarkozy, as well as suggestions that finance minister Bruno Le Maire visited Epstein’s New York home in 2013.
The Redaction Controversy
The release has been marred by serious redaction failures. Multiple victims have found their names, photos and identifying information published without protection. The DOJ acknowledged that 0.1% of released pages contained improperly unredacted victim information, which would amount to more than 3,000 pages.
Survivor Annie Farmer, who testified against Epstein and Maxwell, told NPR the redaction failures felt like “another betrayal.” Survivor Danielle Bensky called the handling “egregious.” A federal judge in New York held a hearing on a request from victims’ lawyers to shut down the DOJ’s document website until all victim information is properly removed.
The DOJ said it had 500 reviewers working on the materials and is “working around the clock” to fix issues as they’re identified. Documents flagged as problematic are being removed for additional review.
What Happens Next
Deputy Attorney General Blanche stated on February 2 that there would be no additional prosecutions related to Epstein. “There’s a lot of correspondence. There’s a lot of emails. There’s a lot of photographs,” Blanche said, “but that does not allow us necessarily to prosecute somebody.”
Ghislaine Maxwell remains the only person convicted of crimes associated with Epstein. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sexual exploitation and trafficking of children.
The House Oversight Committee has issued subpoenas to numerous individuals demanding testimony under oath, with transcripts expected to be released publicly. Representative Khanna indicated he would consider contempt or impeachment proceedings against senior officials if compliance with the transparency law does not improve.
The full archive is available at the DOJ’s Epstein Library.