Jeffrey Epstein case

The Guardian - The Department of Justice on Friday released a long-awaited and huge tranche of documents detailing its investigations into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a major development in the lengthy saga that turned into one of the biggest political setbacks Donald Trump has suffered since his re-election last year.

While significant portions of the files are redacted, those that were viewable included images of Epstein socializing with an array of prominent figures, including entertainers like Michael Jackson, Chris Tucker and Diana Ross, and the entrepreneur Richard Branson. Bill Clinton appears in several photos, including one in which he is in a swimming pool along with Epstein’s convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. The images also show former British royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Another cache of documents showed photos of evidence gathered including drives and computers but did not reveal details as to the contents. There was also a photo of what appeared to be a dog in a garbage bag, placed inside a box.

In a letter to Congress, Todd Blanche said the documents, which date back to 2006, when Epstein was investigated on child prostitution charges, were only the first set of what is planned for release. “The volume of materials to be reviewed … means that the department must publicly produce responsive documents on a rolling basis,” the deputy attorney general wrote in the letter obtained by Fox News.

He also acknowledged an array of redactions, including the identifying details of more than 1,200 victims and their family members.

Congressional Democrats accused the Trump administration of failing to adhere to the letter of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires the justice department to release all “unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” in its possession related to the financier’s cases by 19 December. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex-trafficking minors.

The law also requires the justice department to publish any materials from the investigations that relate to Maxwell, who was found guilty in 2021 of aidingEpstein’s sex trafficking of teen girls and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

“Technically they’re not in compliance,” said Democratic congressman Ro Khanna, a leader of the push to get the legislation passed.

 The Guardian -  Photographs of the child sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell released by the US justice department appear to show how Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor facilitated their access to British high society.

Epstein and Maxwell are pictured hunting with the former prince at Balmoral and with him in the royal box at Ascot. A separate picture shows Maxwell outside 10 Downing Street.

One image shows Mountbatten-Windsor reclining across the legs of five people, whose faces have been redacted, with his head near a woman’s lap. In this image, Maxwell appears to peer down and smile at him.

The Guardian -  Investigative notes describing Jeffrey Epstein’s detailed demands of the people he sent to procure children for his sexual predation are among the documents released by the Department of Justice on Friday.

They cast a grim spotlight on the actions of Epstein and those around him amid their efforts to procure young women and underage girls for the late disgraced financier. They were part of a long-awaited release of documents from Donald Trump’s justice department, which has been slammed for being only a partial release and heavily redacted.

But one document, called EFTA00004179, consists of a formal FBI evidence cover sheet and 13 pages of handwritten investigative notes from an interview conducted on 2 May 2019. The interview subject is redacted, as is some of the content.

Still, themes emerge; recruitment of girls, sexual encounters under the guise of “massages” and Epstein’s specific preferences regarding age and race.