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Former President Bill Clinton, rock star Mick Jagger and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are seated at a table in this undated photo released as part of the Epstein files on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, by the Department of Justice. Clinton has denied any connection to Epstein’s alleged crimes. (Photo from Department of Justice)<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2014 The Department of Justice began\u00a0releasing thousands of records<\/a> Friday related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but questions remained over whether officials will meet the requirements of a law overwhelmingly backed by both Republicans and Democrats and signed by President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n The department posted four data sets of images and documents just after 4 p.m. Eastern.<\/p>\n The trove reviewed by States Newsroom reporters contains numerous images of Epstein with celebrities, including the late pop star Michael Jackson, rock legend Mick Jagger, illusionist David Copperfield and former President Bill Clinton. Many other faces in photos are redacted. The photos were released without dates or context.\u00a0<\/p>\n A reproduction of Epstein\u2019s contact list included entries for Trump, his late former wife, Ivana Trump, and his daughter, Ivanka Trump.<\/p>\n An array of photos of Trump with several women appeared amongst the files, according to a preliminary scan by the New York Times. But the Times also said most of the images already had been made public.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump, who is prolific on social media, had not yet commented in the hours after the files were released. During an earlier press conference on prescription drugs Friday, the president declined to take any questions.<\/p>\n Trump had a well documented friendship with Epstein, a hedge fund manager who enjoyed a circle of wealthy and influential friends \u2014 though Trump maintains he had a falling out with Epstein and was never involved in any alleged crimes.<\/p>\n Since July, when Justice officials announced no further files would be released, Trump had resisted loud protests, even from his base, that all investigative material in the government\u2019s possession should be made public. Trump repeatedly called the files a \u201cDemocrat hoax,\u201d despite the investigation occurring during his first administration.<\/p>\n Files in the first dataset include images of lavishly furnished rooms, including one that appears to have a taxidermied tiger, as well as bathrooms with framed photographs of women whose faces have been redacted.<\/p>\n Photos in the second data set reveal Epstein seated at a table with Jagger, and another of Clinton lying in a hot tub or spa with the top of his chest visible. Another photo was of Clinton with the late pop star Michael Jackson.<\/p>\n Clinton was also photographed with a woman, whose face is redacted, seated on his lap and with his arm around her. In another, Clinton and Epstein stand side by side, smiling at something off camera and dressed in shiny party shirts.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Clinton posted on social media that the former president was unaware of Epstein\u2019s illegal activities and cut the financier off socially before allegations were public. The spokesperson, Angel Ure\u00f1a, also redirected attention back to Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they\u2019ll try and hide forever,\u201d he wrote about the Trump White House. \u201cSo they can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn\u2019t about Bill Clinton. Never has, never will be.\u201d<\/p>\n In a Dec. 10\u00a0letter<\/a> from Clinton\u2019s lawyer obtained by the New York Times, the former president denies being connected to any alleged crimes Epstein committed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Photos in the third dataset document Epstein\u2019s travels to Europe, desert locations and island locales. Most photos of people other than Epstein,\u00a0his accomplice Ghislaine\u00a0Maxwell and Clinton are redacted.<\/p>\n The last dataset also included a completely redacted 119-page grand jury file from New York federal court. Both Epstein and Maxwell were prosecuted in New York, and the Justice Department\u00a0requested<\/a> the sealed records be made public.<\/p>\n Maxwell was convicted and sentenced for her role in the scheme to traffic teenage girls for sex.<\/p>\n The fourth trove of files appeared to relate to law enforcement and attorneys\u2019 investigation into potential sex abusers, such as coordinating interviews and crafting timelines. A portion of the documents related to a 2019 grand jury were completely blacked out.\u00a0<\/p>\n Following the Justice Department\u2019s release Friday afternoon, both Rep. Tom Massie, R-Ky., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who co-sponsored the Epstein Files Transparency Act, released scathing statements.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, today\u2019s document release by @AGPamBondi<\/a> and @DAGToddBlanche<\/a> grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law that @realDonaldTrump<\/a> signed just 30 days ago,\u201d Massie posted on X.<\/p>\n Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche\u00a0told<\/a> Fox News Friday morning the department will \u201crelease several hundred thousand documents today, and those documents will come in all different forms, photographs and other materials associated with, with all of the investigations into, into Mr. Epstein.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But Blanche also said the release will carry over into \u201cthe next couple of weeks,\u201d which would be past the Friday deadline set in the law.<\/p>\n The law, unanimously\u00a0supported by the Senate and approved by the House 427-1<\/a>, requires the Justice Department to\u00a0publicly disclose \u201call unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in its possession that relate to Epstein or Maxwell.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a statement Friday slamming the department\u2019s admission that it will not meet the law\u2019s deadline. Trump\u00a0signed<\/a> the bill into law on Nov. 19.<\/p>\n \u201cThe law Congress passed and President Trump signed was clear as can be \u2014 the Trump administration had 30 days to release ALL the Epstein files, not just some. Failing to do so is breaking the law. This just shows the Department of Justice, Donald Trump, and Pam Bondi are hellbent on hiding the truth,\u201d Schumer said, alleging a \u201ccover up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSenate Democrats are working closely with attorneys for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and with outside legal experts to assess what documents are being withheld and what is being covered up by Pam Bondi. We will not stop until the whole truth comes out,\u201d the New York Democrat continued.<\/p>\n Schumer later criticized in a separate statement the late afternoon release as \u201cjust a fraction of the whole body of evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n House Democrats Robert Garcia, D-Calif., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., released a joint statement Friday stating they \u201care now examining all legal options in the face of this violation of federal law.\u201d Garcia and Raskin are, respectively, the ranking members of the House Oversight and Government Reform and Judiciary committees.\u00a0<\/p>\n Massie, who pushed to bypass Republican leadership to pass the legislation, published a\u00a014-minute video<\/a> on social media Thursday night regarding how the public should interpret whether the Justice Department follows the statute.<\/p>\n \u201cHow will you know if they\u2019ve released all the materials?\u201d Massie said. \u201cWell, one of the ways we\u2019ll know is there are people who covered this case for years, and I\u2019ve talked to them in private, then they know what some of the material is that\u2019s back there.\u201d<\/p>\n The Kentucky Republican said he\u2019s been in contact with victims\u2019 lawyers who claim federal investigators are in possession of names that should be contained in the files.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we get a large production on December 19, and it does not contain a single name of any male who\u2019s accused of a sex crime or sex trafficking or rape, or any of these things, then we know they haven\u2019t produced all the documents. It\u2019s that simple,\u201d Massie said.<\/p>\n In a press conference Tuesday led by several Senate Democrats, Schumer said the lawmakers have been \u201cpreparing for any scenario\u201d and warned \u201cthere will be serious legal and political consequences\u201d if the Trump administration withholds documents required by law to be released.<\/p>\n The brief text of the\u00a0law<\/a> does not outline penalties if the deadline is not met.<\/p>\n Types of documents cited in the law include flight logs, plea agreements and immunity deals, and any internal DOJ communications about Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.<\/p>\n The law states documents cannot be delayed, redacted or withheld \u201con the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.\u201d<\/p>\n Victims\u2019 identities must be redacted, and written justification is required for any information withheld, according to the law.<\/p>\n Carve-outs also exist for any material relating to ongoing investigations.\u00a0<\/p>\n The department announced new investigations on Nov. 14 into Epstein\u2019s ties to Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and prominent investor Reid Hoffman.\u00a0<\/p>\n Attorney General Pam Bondi said Nov. 19 during a press conference that \u201cinformation has come forward, new information, additional information.\u201d<\/p>\n Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform have been\u00a0releasing<\/a> a trickle of private files from Epstein\u2019s estate that were handed over in response to a congressional subpoena. Committee Democrats disclosed dozens more\u00a0images<\/a> Thursday.<\/p>\n The public disclosure of the digital files, released via a cloud folder without context, follows the committee Democrats\u2019 announcement Dec. 12 that it had received 95,000 more images from Epstein\u2019s estate.\u00a0<\/p>\n Among those images was a photo of Trump surrounded by women whose faces had been redacted, and an image of apparent packaged condoms with Trump\u2019s face on them and a sign reading \u201cI\u2019m HUUUUGE!\u201d Another image, which featured an apparent \u201cBill Clinton\u201d autograph, shows the former president posing with Epstein, Maxwell and others.<\/p>\n The latest batch of private records released included photos of Epstein with guests at meals and multiple photos of Epstein talking with former Trump strategist Steve Bannon across a sizable wooden desk in what appears to be an office with antique books and collectibles. Another photo shows Epstein dressed in traditional sheikh-style garments.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n ![\"Former](\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/michaeljackson.png\")
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>Document release to continue<\/h4>\n
\u2018ALL the Epstein files\u2019<\/h4>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\u2018New information\u2019 on Epstein cited\u00a0\u00a0<\/h4>\n
House Democrats release more photos<\/h4>\n