By way of example, Khanna noted: \u201cThey released one document from a New York grand jury of a 119 pages totally blacked out! This despite a New York judge ordering them to release that document, and our law requires them to explain redactions. There\u2019s not a single explanation for why that entire document was redacted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have not seen the draft indictment,\u201d Khanna added, \u201cthat implicates other rich and powerful men who were on Epstein\u2019s rape island, who either watched the abuse of young girls or participated in the abuse of young girls.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an incomplete release, with too many redactions. Thomas Massie and I are exploring all options,\u201d Khanna said, including the impeachment of justice department officials, finding them in contempt of Congress, \u201cor referring for prosecution those who are obstructing justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican congressman who co-wrote the legislation, shared<\/a> Khanna\u2019s video statement on social media, with the comment that the document release by Pam Bondi, the attorney general, and Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general who previously served as Donald Trump\u2019s personal lawyer, \u201cgrossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law\u201d that Trump signed, \u201cjust 30 days ago\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.02 EST<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Bill Clinton’s spokesman accuses White House of pointing to former president’s Epstein ties to distract from Trump’s<\/p>\n The partial release of files from the justice department on Friday includes heavy redactions and scant references to Donald Trump, but many images of Bill Clinton, the former president Trump has claimed, without evidence, was closer to Jeffrey Epstein<\/a> than him.<\/p>\n Angel Ure\u00f1a, a spokesman for Clinton, accused the Trump White House of trying to focus attention on the former president while concealing evidence of the current one\u2019s ties to the late sex offender in a statement<\/a> posted on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cThe White House hasn\u2019t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton. This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they\u2019ll try and hide forever. So 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. Even Susie Wiles said Donald Trump<\/a> was wrong about Bill Clinton,\u201d Ure\u00f1a said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are two types of people here. The first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light. The second group continued relationships with him after. We\u2019re in the first. No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that. Everyone, especially MAGA, expects answers, not scapegoats,\u201d Ure\u00f1a added.<\/p>\n In an interview with Vanity Fair<\/a> published earlier this week, that Ure\u00f1a has drawn attention to, Trump\u2019s White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, admitted<\/a> that \u201cThere is no evidence\u201d for the unsourced claim Trump has been making for years: that Clinton visited Epstein\u2019s notorious private island in the Caribbean. Wiles also said that the files she has seen contain no damning evidence about Clinton. \u201cThe president was wrong about that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.42 EST<\/p>\n The disappointment was palpable. In February, a group of 15 rightwing influencers visited the White House and paraded binders<\/a> labelled \u201cThe Epstein Files: Phase 1\u201d, only to discover that they contained precious little that was new.<\/p>\n Ten months later, it was the world\u2019s turn. Amid huge global anticipation on Friday, the US justice department released hundreds of thousands of pages of documents related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trump administration<\/a> is the most transparent in history,\u201d proclaimed Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, insisting that it had \u201cdone more for the victims [of Epstein] than Democrats ever have\u201d.<\/p>\n But it soon became apparent that, once again, Donald Trump<\/a> had overpromised and underdelivered. Many of the documents in the data dump were heavily redacted, with text blacked out so it was impossible to read. Norm Eisen, executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund, said: \u201cWhat they have released is clearly incomplete and appears to be over-redacted to boot.\u201d<\/p>\n The documents extensively featured photos of former president Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and appeared to include few if any photos of Trump or documents mentioning him, despite Trump and Epstein\u2019s well-publicised friendship in the 1990s and early 2000s.<\/p>\n Moreover, Friday\u2019s release was far from complete. The US deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said<\/a> \u201cseveral hundred thousand\u201d documents would be made public on Friday, but that the need to protect victims meant thousands more would be released over the next couple of weeks. The initial release also appeared to include far less than Blanche promised.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.59 EST<\/p>\n Maria Farmer’s lawyer points to 1996 FBI report documenting her complaint about Epstein and Maxwell<\/p>\n Jennifer Freeman, a lawyer who represents the Epstein survivor Maria Farmer in her lawsuit against the federal government, just told our colleague Victoria Bekiempis that one new document in the partial release of Epstein files on Friday is this FBI report from 1996, documenting Farmer\u2019s effort to report her abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in 1996.<\/p>\n A page from a 1996 FBI report released on Friday as part of the Epstein files by the Department of Justice. Photograph: Department of Justice<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s new today is finally getting the FBI report of Maria Farmer from 1996 – this is triumph and tragedy for Maria and so many survivors. Maria Farmer reported Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell\u2019s crimes in 1996. Had the government done their job, and properly investigated Maria\u2019s report, over 1000 victims could have been spared and 30 years of trauma avoided. After several years of asking for her records, the gov[ernment] finally released at least some of them today,\u201d Freeman wrote in an email.<\/p>\n \u201cMaria told me that she is \u2018shedding tears of joy for myself but also tears of sorrow for all of the other victims that the FBI failed.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The handwritten description of Farmer\u2019s harrowing complaint, dated 3 September 1996, said that she told the FBI in a telephone interview \u201cthat she is a professional artist and took pictures of her sisters 12 and 16 [years old] for her own professional art work. Epstein stole the photos and negatives and is believed to have sold the pictures\u201d.<\/p>\n Epstein, the complaint added, requested that a person whose identity is redacted \u201ctake pictures of young girls at swimming pools\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cEpstein is now threatening\u201d a woman whose identity is redacted \u201cthat if she tells anyone about the photos he will burn her house down\u201d.<\/p>\n Maria Farmer has previously said<\/a> that after she was violently groped by both Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in 1996, she discovered that partially nude photos she had of her two younger sisters for use in her work as a painter went missing.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.01 EST<\/p>\n Ro Khanna says this ‘document dump does not comply with’ law to compel full release of Epstein files<\/p>\n \u201cThe justice department\u2019s document dump this afternoon does not comply with Thomas Massie and my Epstein Transparency Act,\u201d Ro Khanna, the California Democratic congressman who co-wrote the law requiring full disclosure of all of the government\u2019s investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein by Friday, said in a video statement<\/a> posted on social media.<\/p>\n By way of example, Khanna noted: \u201cThey released one document from a New York grand jury of a 119 pages totally blacked out! This despite a New York judge ordering them to release that document, and our law requires them to explain redactions. There\u2019s not a single explanation for why that entire document was redacted.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have not seen the draft indictment,\u201d Khanna added, \u201cthat implicates other rich and powerful men who were on Epstein\u2019s rape island, who either watched the abuse of young girls or participated in the abuse of young girls.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is an incomplete release, with too many redactions. Thomas Massie and I are exploring all options,\u201d Khanna said, including the impeachment of justice department officials, finding them in contempt of Congress, \u201cor referring for prosecution those who are obstructing justice.\u201d<\/p>\n Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican congressman who co-wrote the legislation, shared<\/a> Khanna\u2019s video statement on social media, with the comment that the document release by Pam Bondi, the attorney general, and Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general who previously served as Donald Trump\u2019s personal lawyer, \u201cgrossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law\u201d that Trump signed, \u201cjust 30 days ago\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.02 EST<\/p>\n Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor pictured in new files<\/p>\n Another photo shows Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, lying across five people whose faces are redacted. The only other identifiable person is Ghislaine Maxwell, who is standing behind them.<\/p>\n Andrew has been under scrutiny for many years over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. He has denied all accusations against him. In a statement<\/a> from October after he was stripped of his royal titles, Andrew said he stood by his decision to step back from public life as the \u201caccusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family\u201d, adding: \u201cWith His Majesty\u2019s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me.\u201d<\/p>\n Ghislaine Maxwell and former Prince Andrew in a partially redacted photo released by the Department of Justice. Photograph: Department of JusticeShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.04 EST<\/p>\n What had already emerged about Trump’s links to Epstein?<\/p>\n Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were friends for 15 years, with Epstein at one point believing himself to be Trump\u2019s \u201cclosest friend\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,\u201d Trump told New York magazine<\/a> in 2002. \u201cHe\u2019s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.\u201d<\/p>\n The relationship eventually broke down, with the men falling out over a bidding war on a property in Florida. After Epstein was convicted of child sex offences in Florida in 2008, Trump distanced himself from the financier, claiming he was \u201cnot a fan\u201d.<\/p>\n The most recent explanation of the relationship breakdown from Trump is that the friendship ended because Epstein repeatedly \u201cstole\u201d employees from the spa at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, which Trump deemed an \u201cinappropriate\u201d tactic. He has suggested one of the employees was Epstein\u2019s most high-profile accuser <\/a>Virginia Giuffre<\/a>, who died by suicide in April.<\/p>\n Virginia Giuffre, who died earlier this year. Photograph: Everett Collection Inc\/Alamy<\/p>\n Other reports suggest that Trump barred Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after Epstein behaved inappropriately toward a club member\u2019s teenage daughter, according to journalists from the Miami Herald and Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n After the president spent the summer batting away questions over his relationship with Epstein, on 8 September a 238-page<\/a> scrapbook given to Epstein for his 50th birthday was made public<\/a> by House Democrats.<\/p>\n Featuring letters suggesting the sex offender\u2019s lecherous exploits were an open secret, the book included a message bearing Donald Trump\u2019s signature.<\/p>\n Inside a sketch of a woman\u2019s torso, the message depicts an imagined conversation between Trump and Epstein, concluding:<\/p>\n Happy birthday \u2013 and may every day be another wonderful secret.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s name and distinctive signature appear below.<\/p>\n The White House claimed the signature was not Trump\u2019s, despite it appearing identical<\/a> to numerous public examples. Trump dismissed the letter as \u201cFAKE\u201d.<\/p>\n (Here is our explainer<\/a> of who is in the \u201cbirthday book\u201d and what they said.)<\/p>\n Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 1997. Photograph: Davidoff Studios Photography\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Then in November, Democrats released three of Epstein\u2019s email exchanges<\/a> that suggest Trump knew about the disgraced financier\u2019s conduct.<\/p>\n In a message sent to Ghislaine Maxwell<\/a> on 2 April 2011, Epstein described Trump as \u201cthat dog that hasn\u2019t barked\u201d. Epstein wrote that Trump \u201cspent hours at my house\u201d with one of his sex-trafficked victims, and noted that Trump had \u201cnever once been mentioned\u201d in connection with his crimes. Maxwell replied: \u201cI have been thinking about that \u2026 \u201d<\/p>\n In a separate message, sent to the journalist Michael Wolff in January 2019, Epstein wrote: \u201cof course [Trump] knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n The third released email exchange, from December 2015, shows Wolff advising Epstein that if Trump claimed to have not visited Epstein\u2019s house or flown on his plane, \u201cthen that gives you a valuable PR and political currency\u201d.<\/p>\n Maxwell, the daughter of the media tycoon Robert Maxwell, was Epstein\u2019s one time girlfriend and was convicted of sex trafficking crimes as his accomplice.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.58 EST<\/p>\n Group photos including Trump seen in latest Epstein file release<\/p>\n We\u2019re very much still combing through all the files, but one image so far has featured Donald Trump. On a desk with many photographs of Epstein and various people including Bill Clinton and Mohammed bin Salman is a photo in which Trump stands with several women and another that has been previously released with Melania Trump, Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein.<\/p>\n A photograph released as part of the Epstein files. Photograph: Department of JusticeShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.03 EST<\/p>\n A quick recap: how did we get here?<\/p>\n Trump and his allies long stoked conspiracy theories around Epstein and he and vice-president JD Vance promised the release of the files on the campaign trail. Pam Bondi also told Fox News<\/a> in February that a list of Epstein\u2019s clients was \u201csitting on my desk ready to review\u201d.<\/p>\n The Department of Justice gave a group of conservative commentators binders labeled \u201cThe Epstein files: phase one\u201d later in February. But the files contained little new information<\/a>, leaving conspiracy theorists disappointed, prompting Bondi to describe<\/a> the documents as the \u201cfirst phase of files\u201d. In a statement, the DoJ said it \u201cremains committed to transparency and intends to release the remaining documents upon review and redaction to protect the identities of Epstein\u2019s victims\u201d.<\/p>\n But in an abrupt U-turn in July, the DoJ walked that back, announcing there was no client list<\/a> and that it would not be making public any more files related to the sex-trafficking investigation.<\/p>\n The fallout was significant, with the saga dramatically plunging Trump\u2019s Maga base into turmoil<\/a> and igniting an intense backlash amid accusations of a \u201ccover-up\u201d.<\/p>\n Trump and Epstein depicted in a work of protest art by free speech advocates on the National Mall. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite\/AP<\/p>\n Republican lawmakers moved to block a Democratic effort to force the release of the Epstein files on 14 July. But the next day, House speaker Mike Johnson, a fierce Trump ally, called for<\/a> the Epstein documents to be released.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it,\u201d Johnson told a rightwing podcaster, joining a small but growing number of Republicans demanding the documents be made public. Chip Roy, Thomas Massie and Ralph Norman, Republican members of the House, demanded<\/a> more information be released.<\/p>\n Trump, meanwhile, dismissed the uproar and went on the attack, calling the issue a \u201choax\u201d and railing against those who wanted to make the documents public. The Epstein files, he said, were \u201cboring\u201d and anyone who cared about them \u2013 though many of them are his own supporters \u2013 were \u201cbad people\u201d.<\/p>\n As the issue refused to go away, four dissident Republicans in the House, and all Democrats, banded together to force a vote on a bill to release the files, over Johnson\u2019s objections.<\/p>\n The House overwhelmingly approved the bill on 19 November in a 427-1 tally. The Senate agreed to pass the bill<\/a>, and it was sent to Trump\u2019s desk to be signed into law.<\/p>\n The law required the justice department to release the files within 30 days, though it is permitted to hold back records that identify victims, including images of child sexual abuse, or documents that have been deemed classified.<\/p>\n It also has discretion to withhold records that could prejudice a federal investigation. Trump last month ordered a criminal investigation into Epstein\u2019s links with prominent Democrats, including former president Bill Clinton.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Ex-Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson seen in photos released by DoJ<\/p>\n Sarah Ferguson, the former Duchess of York, can also be seen sitting on a sofa next to a person whose identity has been shielded, and standing next to a woman in another photo whose face is also redacted.<\/p>\n There is no context provided and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n Sarah Ferguson in a partially redacted photo released by the Department of Justice. Photograph: Department of JusticeSarah Ferguson in a partially redacted photo released by the Department of Justice. Photograph: Department of JusticeShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.34 EST<\/p>\n Mick Jagger and Bill Clinton appear in photos released by DoJ<\/p>\n Another photo shows Ghislaine Maxwell, Mick Jagger, Bill Clinton and others around a table. There is no context given and appearing in these photos is not a suggestion of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n Bill Clinton, Mick Jagger and Ghislaine Maxwell in a photo released by the Department of Justice. Photograph: Department of JusticeShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.34 EST<\/p>\n Schumer decries ‘heavily redacted’ files as ‘just a fraction of the whole body of evidence’<\/p>\n Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has condemned the justice department for \u201creleasing just a fraction of the whole body of evidence\u201d on Epstein.<\/p>\n \u201cSimply releasing a mountain of blacked out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law,\u201d he said in a statement, adding:<\/p>\n The law Congress passed calls for the complete release of the Epstein files so that there can be full transparency. This set of heavily redacted documents released by the Department of Justice today is just a fraction of the whole body of evidence.<\/p>\n Simply releasing a mountain of blacked out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law. For example, all 119 pages of one document were completely blacked out. We need answers as to why.<\/p>\n Senate Democrats are working to assess the documents that have been released to determine what actions must be taken to hold the Trump administration accountable. We will pursue every option to make sure the truth comes out.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.05 EST<\/p>\n![\"David](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/David_Smith.png\")
David Smith<\/p>\n