The Justice Department has released thousands of pages tied to investigations into Jeffrey Epstein. Here’s how to access the records.
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has released thousands of pages of records tied to its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, following a new federal law requiring the government to make public what it has on the late financier.
The release comes a month after Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law the Epstein Files Transparency Act, requiring the Justice Department to publish the records in a searchable, downloadable format within 30 days.
The newly released files span years of investigations into Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving underage girls. Epstein had long been connected to wealthy, powerful and well-known figures, fueling intense public interest in what the government’s records might reveal.
How to find the newly released Epstein files
The files, released Friday around 4 p.m. EST, are accessible through the Department of Justice’s website here.
High interest led the Justice Department to regulate access to its Epstein files website for a time.
The webpage went live Friday afternoon with a waiting room-type queue akin to what concertgoers sometimes see when they go online to purchase tickets.
Visitors were greeted with the message: “You are in line for Department of Justice web content. When it is your turn, you will have 10 minutes to enter the website.”
The webpage then refreshed to reveal a landing page with various categories of documents, including court records and other disclosures.
What’s in the newly released Epstein files?
Among the thousands of records released by the Justice Department are photos, call logs, grand jury testimony and interview transcripts. Many of the documents have been redacted and at least some have already been in the public domain.
Some of the photos and transcripts feature Epstein and his longtime confidant, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.
Maxwell was charged with recruiting underage girls for Epstein to abuse. She was convicted in late 2021 and is serving a 20-year-prison sentence.
The files also included video clips from inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City from the day Epstein died by suicide in his jail cell. The video clips had already been released previously by the Justice Department and officials have said for years they showed no one else entering the area around Epstein’s cell before he was found dead.