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Sam Levine<\/p>\nAnalysis: trickle release on a Friday signals move to bury Trump tiesSam Levine<\/p>\n
The justice department\u2019s partial release of the Epstein files on Friday signaled how the agency is using a variety of tactics to try to bury and obfuscate Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s connection to Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>, writes Sam Levine.<\/p>\n The release underscores how the Trump administration is trying to balance both the demand to release the files \u2013 something encouraged in large part by the Maga base \u2013 while also obfuscating with a slow trickle of document dumps to prevent any embarrassment to Trump, who was friends<\/a> with Epstein for years before they had a falling out.<\/p>\n Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche has said the department will continue to produce documents on a rolling basis in the coming weeks \u2013 a holiday period \u2013 a bet that Americans will simply tune out the story as it drags on.<\/p>\n Read Sam\u2019s full analysis here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.37 EST<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Timeline: former Prince Andrew and Epstein’s tiesSky News reported that the photograph was taken at Sandringham, the late Queen Elizabeth\u2019s Norfolk estate. Photograph: Department Of Justice\/ZUMA Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n 1999-2010<\/p>\n Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor said he first met the American financier Jeffrey Epstein in 1999 through Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein\u2019s then girlfriend who was already known to the former prince.<\/p>\n Several undated photos of them together have been released in the recent tranche of Epstein files<\/a>, showing how Andrew<\/a> facilitated their access to British high society. Epstein and Maxwell appear to be 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\u2019s lap. Another picture, understood to have been taken in 2002, shows Maxwell posing in Winston Churchill\u2019s war rooms, the secret underground meeting place for the British cabinet during the second world war, with a group that includes the former US president Bill Clinton and the actor Kevin Spacey.<\/p>\n Andrew told the BBC that he used to see Epstein a maximum of three times a year at the time but confirmed that he had been on his private plane, stayed at his private island and at his homes in Palm Beach, Florida and New York.<\/p>\n In July 2006 Epstein was invited to a masked ball at Windsor Castle to celebrate the 18th birthday of Princess Beatrice, Andrew\u2019s elder daughter. The previous month Epstein had been charged with one count of solicitation of prostitution. Andrew said Epstein never mentioned that he was under investigation.<\/p>\n Former prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein at Royal Ascot. Photograph: Tim Graham\/Tim Graham Photo Library\/Getty Images<\/p>\n 2010-2018:<\/p>\n In 2010 Epstein provided Sarah Ferguson \u00a315,000 to assist with her personal debt. When this was reported by The Telegraph the following year, she made a public apology for accepting the money, stating in 2011 that: \u201cI personally, on behalf of myself, deeply regret that Jeffrey Epstein became involved in any way with me. I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgement on my behalf. I am just so contrite I cannot say. Whenever I can I will repay the money and will have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again. What he did was wrong and for which he was rightly jailed.\u201d<\/p>\n However, leaked emails from just weeks after this statement was made in 2011 show that Ferguson apologised to Epstein for disowning him<\/a>. 2019-Present:<\/p>\n After Epstein\u2019s second arrest in 2019, Andrew released a statement in which he stated: \u201cAt no stage during the limited time I spent with him did I see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n On 16 November 2019, the BBC aired an interview with Andrew on Newsnight. Asked by Emily Maitlis if he regretted his friendship with convicted paedophile Epstein, Andrew said he did not, saying that \u201cthe people that I met and the opportunities that I was given to learn either by him or because of him were actually very useful\u201d. The interview was widely seen as a disaster with Andrew being subject to strong criticism.<\/p>\n Days after the Newsnight interview aired, Andrew stepped down from official duties in 2019.<\/p>\n In May 2020 it was announced that Andrew would permanently resign from all public roles.<\/p>\n In June 2022, Ghislaine Maxwell<\/a> was sentenced on Tuesday to 20 years in prison in her New York sex-trafficking case for procuring teen girls for Jeffrey Epstein<\/a> for him to abuse.<\/p>\n In 2022, Andrew paid millions in a settlement agreement to Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was sexually assaulted by him when she was trafficked by Epstein as a teenager. Andrew settled Giuffre\u2019s lawsuit despite claiming he had never met her and despite a widely circulated photo of them taken by Epstein in Maxwell\u2019s London home. He made no admission of liability.<\/p>\n The publication of a posthumous memoir by Giuffre<\/a>, who died by suicide in April, and the US government\u2019s release of documents from Epstein\u2019s estate, brought more scrutiny of his relationship with the financier.<\/p>\n Mounbatten-Windsor\u2019s brother, the king, stripped him of his royal titles<\/a> in October 2025. The statement from Buckingham Palace added: \u201cTheir Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n The royal family have declined to comment on the photos released in the first tranche of \u2018Epstein Files\u2019.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.29 EST<\/p>\n ‘What are we hiding here?’ asks Virginia Giuffre’s brother after limited files released<\/p>\n Virginia Giuffre\u2019s brother Sky Roberts tells Reuters he has \u201cmixed feelings\u201d after the partial release of the Epstein files. \u201cWhat are we hiding here?\u201d he asks.<\/p>\n Democrat Robert Garcia, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, estimated the tranche of documents released yesterday included only about 10 per cent of the material in the department\u2019s possession.<\/p>\n Giuffre\u2019s sister-in-law Amanda Roberts adds that \u201cnothing the Department of Justice does comes as a surprise\u201d. She claims it has used the case as a \u201cpolitical toy\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen there were rumours that potentially the president could be named in there, all of a sudden the story changed,\u201d she says. Then it was \u201choax\u201d and there was \u201cnothing to see\u201d, she adds.<\/p>\n Trump is scantly mentioned in the files released yesterday and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.<\/p>\n Despite this, Sky Roberts tells Reuters his sister would have felt an \u201coverwhelming amount of joy for her survivor sisters\u201d on Friday.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.14 EST<\/p>\n Democrats criticize partial Epstein files release<\/p>\n Since the release of the first tranche of heavily-redacted Epstein files yesterday, Democrats have lined up to criticize the Trump administration<\/a> and justice department, saying the partial release violates the Epstein Files Transparency Act.<\/p>\n In a post on X<\/a> last night, Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said: \u201cNow the coverup is out in the open. This is far from over. Everyone involved will have to answer for this. Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, whole admin. Protecting a bunch of rapists and pedophiles because they have money, power, and connections. Bondi should resign tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer accused the Trump administration of breaking the law: \u201cSimply releasing a mountain of blacked out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law \u2026 We need answers as to why,\u201d he said in a post on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n Co-author of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, Ro Khanna, posted a video on X arguing the DOJ release \u201cdoes not comply\u201d with the law.<\/p>\n \u201cOur law requires them to explain redactions. There is not a single explanation,\u201d Khanna said, adding he would look at options like impeachment, contempt or referral to prosecution.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Analysis: trickle release on a Friday signals move to bury Trump ties The justice department\u2019s partial release of the Epstein files on Friday signaled how the agency is using a variety of tactics to try to bury and obfuscate Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s connection to Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>, writes Sam Levine.<\/p>\n The release underscores how the Trump administration is trying to balance both the demand to release the files \u2013 something encouraged in large part by the Maga base \u2013 while also obfuscating with a slow trickle of document dumps to prevent any embarrassment to Trump, who was friends<\/a> with Epstein for years before they had a falling out.<\/p>\n Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche has said the department will continue to produce documents on a rolling basis in the coming weeks \u2013 a holiday period \u2013 a bet that Americans will simply tune out the story as it drags on.<\/p>\n Read Sam\u2019s full analysis here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.37 EST<\/p>\n Here are some of the photos released in the first tranche of files released by the US Department of Justice.<\/p>\n A number of famous faces feature, including former US President Bill Clinton, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, billionaire Richard Branson, and musicians Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson.<\/p>\n Billionaire Richard Branson and Jeffrey Epstein in a partially redacted photo. Photograph: US Department of Justice\/PABill Clinton, Mick Jagger and Ghislaine Maxwell. Photograph: US Justice Department\/ReutersFormer US president Bill Clinton in a partially redacted photo. Photograph: Department Of Justice\/ZUMA Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Angel Uren\u0303a, a spokesperson for Bill Clinton, said that the Epstein investigation wasn\u2019t about the former president.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are two types of people here,\u201d he said. \u201cThe first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light. The second group continued relationships after that. We\u2019re in the first. No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that.\u201d<\/p>\n See more of the images at the link below:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.16 EST<\/p>\n Survivors of Epstein\u2019s abuse condemn justice department for partial release of files<\/p>\n Survivors of the late Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s alleged sexual abuse have expressed disappointment over a document dump that was heavily redacted and only partially released.<\/p>\n Survivors Sharlene Rochard, Jess Michaels, and Annie Farmer react as Sky Roberts, brother of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s late victim Virginia Giuffre, speaks during a press conference on the Epstein Files Transparency Act on 18 November 2025. Photograph: Annabelle Gordon\/Reuters<\/p>\n Epstein survivor Liz Stein told BBC Radio 4\u2019s Today programme that she thinks the Department for Justice is \u201creally brazenly going against the Epstein Files Transparency Act\u201d \u2013 the law which required all documents to be released by Friday.<\/p>\n She says survivors are worried about the possibility of a \u201cslow rollout of incomplete information without any context\u201d. The fight for justice has spanned decades, continents and political administrations, Stein says, adding: \u201cWe just want all of the evidence of these crimes out there\u201d.<\/p>\n While the release of documents comes at a \u201cgreat cost\u201d to victims, Stein is hoping it will be a \u201cpath to justice\u201d.<\/p>\n Lisa Phillips was in her 20s when she met the disgraced financier and says she suffered years of abuse from him and people linked to him.<\/p>\n She told CNN that she believes the Department of Justice was \u201cprotecting themselves, not the victims,\u201d after Trump officials released only partial files that were heavily redacted.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like they have so much information to start connecting the dots and for survivors to get justice. But as you\u2019re seeing, we just keep stalling,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Jennifer Freeman, a lawyer who represents the Epstein survivor Maria Farmer in her lawsuit against the federal government, told our colleague Victoria Bekiempis that one newly released document was important: an FBI report from 1996, documenting Farmer\u2019s effort to report her abuse by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.<\/p>\n \u201cMaria Farmer reported Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell\u2019s crimes in 1996,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cHad the government done their job, and properly investigated Maria\u2019s report, over 1,000 victims could have been spared and 30 years of trauma avoided.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.56 EST<\/p>\n Opening Summary<\/p>\n Hello. We are resuming our live coverage of the Department of Justice\u2019s long-awaited release of documents from the federal investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender who socialized with Donald Trump for more than 15 years.<\/p>\n The first cache of \u2018Epstein Files\u2019 were released on Friday evening after months of delay and stalling from the Trump administration<\/a>. Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche told Fox News that he expected the department to release several hundred thousand more files in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n However, significant portions of the files have been heavily redacted. The photos lack crucial context, including dates and locations. Moreover, the justice department appears to be in violation of the law that required the release of all of the Epstein files by a Friday deadline, according to the two congressmen who drafted the legislation, Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, and Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican.<\/p>\n Missing documents & \u2018over-redactions\u2019:<\/p>\n Khanna said that the partial \u201cdocument dump this afternoon does not comply\u201d with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and told CNN, adding: \u201cThe most important documents are missing.\u201d Those documents are a draft 60-count federal indictment outlining charges against Epstein, and a detailed memorandum summarizing the evidence that was disregarded by the US attorney, Alex Acosta, who chose instead to offer Epstein an extraordinarily lenient plea deal.<\/p>\n According to a Fox News report<\/a>, the justice department redacted the names and identifiers of victims and \u201cthe same redaction standards were applied to politically exposed individuals and government officials\u201d. Massie wrote<\/a> on social media that the attorney general, Pam Bondi, could be convicted by a future justice department of obstruction of justice if she violated a provision of the law by redacting the names of government officials. Massie noted that the law explicitly states that no documents may be \u201cwithheld, delayed, or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official\u201d. Blanche later called Fox News to insist that the justice department is \u201cnot redacting the names of any politicians\u201d.<\/p>\n Instead, the justice department said it may have \u201cover-redacted\u201d the Epstein files in order to \u201cprotect victims\u201d. Jay Clayton, US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in court on Friday that it had blacked out the faces of almost every woman photographed with Jeffrey Epstein, citing issues determining who was a victim of the paedophile. Mr Clayton reportedly noted the approach could be \u201cover-redaction\u201d, but blamed it on the 30-day timeframe Congress set for releasing the documents.<\/p>\n Who is in the Epstein files?<\/p>\n The files that were viewable included images of Epstein socialising with an array of prominent figures, including entertainers like Michael Jackson, Chris Tucker and Diana Ross, and the entrepreneur Richard Branson. The images also show former British royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.<\/p>\n Peter Mandelson, who was sacked from his job as the UK\u2019s ambassador to the US earlier this year, could be seen in a picture with Epstein who is being presented with a giant birthday cake.<\/p>\n There were many images of Bill Clinton, but very little about president Trump in the portion of the files released on Friday. But one seemingly innocuous snapshot of Epstein\u2019s bookcase did include a reminder that he and Trump were once close. The image showed Epstein\u2019s copy of Trump\u2019s 1997 book, Trump: The Art of the Comeback, which the New York Times reported in July<\/a> included an inscription from Trump reading: \u201cTo Jeff \u2013 You are the greatest!\u201d<\/p>\n
She wrote to Epstein: \u201cI know you feel hellaciously let down by me from what you were either told or read and I must humbly apologise to you and your heart for that \u2026I was instructed to act with the utmost speed if I would have any chance of holding on to my career as a children\u2019s book author and a children\u2019s philanthropist,\u201d she is said to have written. \u201cAs you know, I did not, absolutely not, say the \u2018P word\u2019 [paedophile] about you but understand it was reported that I did.\u201d<\/p>\nSam Levine<\/p>\n