The Justice Department dropped 3 million pages, 180,000 images, and 2,000 videos from the Jeffrey Epstein files on Friday, and the revelations are exactly as damning as you’d expect when a convicted sex trafficker cultivated friendships with the world’s most powerful men.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche called this release the final one, claiming the DOJ has met its obligations under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Democrats aren’t buying it. They say roughly half the files remain hidden, including victim interview statements and a draft indictment from 2007 that could explain how Epstein walked free for over a decade.
Here’s what we actually learned from the documents dumped into the public record.
Elon Musk Asked About “The Wildest Party” On Epstein’s Island
The world’s richest man has spent years insisting he turned down Epstein’s invitations. The emails tell a different story, or at least a more complicated one.
In December 2013, Musk reached out to Epstein about visiting his compound in the U.S. Virgin Islands while he was staying near St. Barts. “Is there a good time to visit?” Musk asked. When Epstein inquired how many people Musk wanted flown by helicopter, Musk responded it would likely just be him and his partner at the time.
Then came the kicker: “What day/night will be the wildest party on =our island?”
It’s unclear whether the visit ever happened. Musk’s companies, Tesla and X, haven’t responded to requests for comment. This is the same man who spent 2025 accusing Trump of being “in the Epstein files” and posting that “Bannon is in the Epstein files.” Turns out he’s in there too, and possibly had a closer relationship with Epstein than previously acknowledged.
Steve Bannon And Epstein Were Texting Constantly Before Epstein’s Death
Thousands of texts and emails reveal that Bannon and Epstein maintained a remarkably cozy relationship in 2018 and 2019, well after Bannon left the White House and well after Epstein’s 2008 conviction.
The exchanges show Bannon asking Epstein to send his plane to pick him up in Rome. Epstein offering Bannon use of his luxury residences and jet. Bannon advising Epstein on media strategy as scrutiny intensified. The two discussed a documentary Bannon was supposedly planning to help rehabilitate Epstein’s image.
The most revealing message? In May 2019, just months before Epstein’s arrest and death, Epstein texted Bannon: “Now you can understand why trump wakes up in the middle of the night sweating when he hears you and I are friends.”
The context remains unclear. Bannon hasn’t responded to requests for comment.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Planned A Family Trip To Epstein’s Island
The newly confirmed Commerce Secretary has previously called Epstein “gross” and claimed he cut ties decades ago. The emails suggest a friendlier history.
In December 2012, Epstein invited Lutnick to his Caribbean compound. According to the documents, Lutnick’s wife “enthusiastically accepted” and said they would arrive on their 188-foot yacht with their children and friends. An aide later relayed Epstein’s message saying “Nice to see you.”
The files also show the two had drinks in 2011 and exchanged emails about a building across the street from both their homes in 2017. Lutnick didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Photos Show Former Prince Andrew In Compromising Positions
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, stripped of his royal titles after settling a civil sexual abuse lawsuit, appears in newly released photos crouched over an unidentified woman. The images are undated and released without context. The women in the photos have been anonymized.
Emails also show Maxwell communicating with an account called “The Invisible Man” about whether “Andrew” should visit “the Island” where “5 stunning red heads” would be, or spend time with “Sarah and the kids.” The email references a valet and being at Balmoral, suggesting the sender was indeed the former prince.
British officials are renewing calls for Andrew to cooperate with U.S. investigators.
The 2007 Indictment That Never Happened
Perhaps the most damning revelation isn’t about the famous names. It’s about the system that let Epstein operate for another decade.
The FBI began investigating Epstein in July 2006. By May 2007, agents expected him to be indicted. A prosecutor drafted charges against Epstein and three personal assistants after multiple underage girls told police and the FBI they’d been paid for sexualized massages.
It never happened. U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, who later became Trump’s Labor Secretary, signed off on a deal letting Epstein plead guilty to a state prostitution charge. He served 13 months with work release privileges.
Employee testimony from that investigation is harrowing. One staffer described duties that included fanning $100 bills on a table near Epstein’s bed, disposing of used condoms after “frequent massages with young girls,” and delivering flowers to a student at Royal Palm Beach High School to commemorate her school play performance. When asked if he believed some of the girls were under 18, the employee nodded yes.
Slovakia’s National Security Adviser Already Resigned
Miroslav Lajcak, a former Slovak foreign minister and onetime president of the U.N. General Assembly, resigned Saturday after emails showed Epstein inviting him to dinner and meetings in 2018. He hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing, but the mere appearance in the files was enough to end his political career.
He’s unlikely to be the last casualty.
Bill Clinton And Jeff Bezos Were At The Same Party
A 2009 email from publicist Peggy Siegal to Epstein mentioned leaving an after-party at Ghislaine Maxwell’s house. “Bill Clinton and Jeff Bezos were there,” she wrote.
In a separate 2016 deposition, Epstein invoked his Fifth Amendment rights to every question about the former president. That’s not an admission of guilt, but it’s not nothing either.
Trump’s Name Appears Thousands Of Times
The files contain thousands of references to the current president, many in news clippings and gossip. But the substantive documents are more concerning.
A January 2020 DOJ email noted that newly obtained flight records showed Trump flew on Epstein’s jet “many more times than we previously had reported,” listing at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996. Four of those flights included Maxwell as a passenger. On one 1993 flight, Trump and Epstein were the only passengers.
The files also include unsubstantiated allegations submitted to the FBI, which the DOJ preemptively dismissed as “unfounded and false” in a social media statement. No public accusers have tied Trump to wrongdoing, and he’s denied ever visiting Epstein’s island.
What’s Still Missing
The DOJ says it identified 6 million potentially responsive pages but released only about 3.5 million after review. Democrats, including Rep. Ro Khanna who sponsored the transparency act, say critical documents remain hidden: FBI victim interview statements, the draft 2007 indictment, prosecution memos, and hundreds of thousands of emails from Epstein’s computers.
When a reporter asked Blanche directly whether the public would learn the identities of men who abused girls in Epstein’s network, he dodged. “You just baked in an assumption into your question that I have never said, and I don’t know to be true.”
Translation: Don’t expect answers to the questions that actually matter.
The only person convicted for participating in Epstein’s sex trafficking operation remains Ghislaine Maxwell, currently serving 20 years. The men she helped traffic victims to? Still unnamed. Still uncharged. And, based on these files, still attending parties with former presidents and sending texts to Trump’s closest advisers.