Photographs of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell released by President Trump’s Justice Department have laid bare how Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor opened up British high society to the pair, who are seen on the steps of 10 Downing Street and enjoying hunting trips at Balmoral.
The first tranche of “Epstein files” was released on Friday night, comprised of 300,000 documents. It includes new pictures of the convicted sex offender and Maxwell posing with public figures including Andrew, Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson and Mick Jagger.
Andrew, whose exit from royal life as Prince Andrew was prompted by his friendship with Epstein and his accomplice Maxwell, is shown in one photo lying across five women, their faces redacted. Maxwell stands behind them.
The documents shed new light on the access Maxwell and Epstein enjoyed during visits to Britain alongside the late Queen’s son.
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In one photo, Epstein and Maxwell are pictured with Andrew in the Royal Box at Ascot. They were known to have been personal guests of the former prince on June 22, 2000, during Ladies’ Day. The event was attended by Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother.
Epstein, Andrew and Maxwell in a box at Royal Ascot
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Prince Andrew confirmed during a BBC Newsnight interview that Epstein was his guest, not a guest of the royal family. Andrew described Epstein as a “plus one” to Maxwell.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Ghislaine Maxwell with party guests, whose faces have been redacted
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
The images of the former couple enjoying visits to the late Queen’s residence and at Ascot will cause fresh embarrassment for the royal family, which was forced to strip Andrew of his titles in light of his association with the sex offender. Andrew has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
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In another, undated photograph Maxwell is seen posing outside No 10 in a smart shirt and skirt.
Maxwell at No 10
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Papers released by the National Archives in October revealed Sir Tony Blair met Epstein in Downing Street while he was prime minister after a recommendation by Peter Mandelson.
Epstein visited Blair on May 14, 2002, following a suggestion by Mandelson to Blair’s chief of staff, Jonathan Powell. It was not immediately clear if the set of photographs was from the same trip. Mandelson resigned from his position as ambassador to the US after the release of an earlier batch of the Epstein files.
The latest release features an undated photo of Mandelson and Epstein at a dinner, being served cake. Mandelson has said he never witnessed any wrongdoing by Epstein and that he regrets his relationship with the financier.
Among the previously unseen images, Clinton, the former president, is shown relaxing in a hot tub with a person’s face blacked out next to him, in a swimming pool with Maxwell and a redacted person and with Michael Jackson and Diana Ross.
Bill Clinton relaxes in a hot tub
REUTERS/DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Clinton and Maxwell in a pool
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Clinton with Michael Jackson and Diana Ross
REUTERS/DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Several of the photos appear to have been taken at the same dinner attended by Maxwell, Epstein, Clinton, Mick Jagger and others. It is not clear when the photo was taken, and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing, nor has there been any accusation made towards the singer.
Maxwell, Mick Jagger, Clinton and other dinner guests
REUTERS/DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Clinton has previously denied wrongdoing and asserted that he knew “nothing about the terrible crimes” Epstein committed and had never visited Epstein’s island or homes in New Mexico and Palm Beach.
The pictures and a contacts book used by Epstein are a reminder of years spent rubbing shoulders with the elite before his death by suicide in a US jail awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. Maxwell is serving 20 years in prison after being convicted of sex trafficking.
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There was anger from Democrats and some Republicans after Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney-general, said the Department of Justice was unable to honour the 30-day deadline set in the Epstein Files Transparency Act to release all the material held by the government. The act passed the House of Representatives vote by 427 to one last month after the White House abandoned months of resistance to the release.
One image includes Clinton, Maxwell and the actor Kevin Spacey, second from right
REUTERS
The files were notably devoid of much reference to President Trump, aside from a mention of him in a lawsuit filed by an anonymous accuser.
Trump was allegedly introduced to a 14-year old girl by Epstein at Mar-a-Lago, according to court documents included in Friday’s release. The victim, referred to as “Jane Doe”, alleges she met Trump in the 1990s.
“During one of Doe’s encounters with Epstein, he took her to Mar-a-Lago where he introduced her to its owner, Donald J Trump. Introducing 14-year-old Doe to Donald J Trump, Epstein elbowed Trump playfully asking him, referring to Doe, ‘This is a good one, right?’ Trump smiled and nodded in agreement. They both chuckled and Doe felt uncomfortable, but, at the time, was too young to understand why.”
Court documents mentioning Trump
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Blanche denied on Friday that there had been any order to redact mentions of the president, or any influential individuals. Trump’s former personal lawyer said he knew that because “I would give the order”. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
There is “no effort to hold anything back because there is the name Donald J Trump” in the files, he said. Trump and Epstein were friends, but the president has never been implicated in any wrongdoing.
Files that have yet to be released must still be redacted, Blanche said. “I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks,” he told Fox News. “So today, several hundred thousand, and then, over the next couple of weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more.”
Democrats on the oversight committee claimed that only 10 per cent of the Epstein files had been released.
Robert Garcia, the ranking member on the body, said the disclosure only amounted to a fraction of the documents the Justice Department has in its possession.
“And of that 10 per cent, 5 per cent of that has already been released and the other 5 per cent is highly redacted,” he told CNN.
Friday’s release included flight logs with the names of passengers on Epstein’s private jet, his contact book and a list of masseuses, which was heavily redacted.
The White House said the release of the Epstein files proved that the administration was the “most transparent in history”.
The hundreds of thousands of pages included classified material that would normally be shielded from public view, including the details of federal investigations into Epstein and Maxwell. The materials consisted of grand-jury testimonies, investigative records, immunity deals, sealed settlements and internal communications between the pair.
Their release has long been demanded by a public hungry to learn whether any of Epstein’s rich and powerful associates knew about or participated in the abuse. Epstein’s accusers have also long sought answers about why the federal authorities shut down their initial investigation into the allegations in 2008.
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Bowing to political pressure from Republicans, on November 19 Trump signed a bill giving the Justice Department 30 days to release files and communications related to Epstein, including information about the investigation into Epstein’s death in a federal jail.
Blanche said on Friday night that no further charges were expected as a result of the release.
Thomas Massie, the Republican congressman from Kentucky who lodged the discharge petition that led to the bill, said this week that he knew of at least 20 men who were accused of sex crimes as told to him by the victims’ lawyers and if he did not see those names, “I know we didn’t get all of the files”.
In an appeal petition filed in New York by Maxwell this week, the British former socialite claimed that lawyers for Epstein victims reached “secret settlements” with 25 men.
Clinton’s office has previously acknowledged his meetings and trips with Epstein but asserted that the former president “knows nothing about the terrible crimes” Epstein committed and had never visited Epstein’s island or homes in New Mexico and Palm Beach.
Angel Ureña, a spokesman for Clinton, defended the former president in a rare statement on the connection between the men.
“The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton,” he said. “This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever. So they can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton. Never has, never will be.”