IN just a few hours, the lid is due to be blown off the Jeffrey Epstein files as the Justice Department is legally forced to release what’s been hidden for years.
, the department must publish all the records by the end of Friday.
The Justice Department is legally compelled to release Jeffrey Epstein files by FridayCredit: Alamy
Failure to release the files would put Donald Trump’s administration in breach of a law passed by Congress and signed by the presidentCredit: Splash
The released files cover FBI probes into Epstein, including search warrants and financial recordsCredit: PA
And failure to do so would put Donald Trump’s administration in breach of a law passed overwhelmingly by Congress and
The stakes couldn’t be higher as the files will force into daylight the , his alleged sex-trafficking network and his
Why it matters
This is not a symbolic document dump.
The law forces the justice department to make public its own investigative backbone, including material it has held for years.
The trove reportedly runs to more than 300 gigabytes and spans two major FBI investigations: the 2006 Florida probe that ended in a notorious non-prosecution deal, and the New York investigation that led to Epstein’s 2019 federal sex-trafficking indictment.
Epstein pleaded not guilty and died in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial.
The records include FBI case files, search-warrant material from raids on Epstein’s homes in Florida, New York and his private island Little Saint James.
They also include interview memos, financial and bank records, travel logs, internal justice department communications, corporate records, and docs relating to Epstein’s death.
Federal judges have also cleared the release of grand jury materials from the Epstein indictment, and a related Florida probe, though courts have warned some of that material may already be familiar.
Most crucially, the law bans redactions for “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity”, even if the names involved belong to presidents, billionaires or foreign dignataries.
Only victims’ identities, child sexual abuse material, classified information or material that could jeopardize active investigations can be withheld, and every redaction must be publicly justified.
What’s already come out
Congress moved after months of inaction, approving the transparency law in late November with veto-proof majorities.
The House passed it 427–1, with Republican Clay Higgins casting the lone “no” vote. The Senate approved it unanimously hours later.
Survivors and their families pushed hard for the release.
Sky Roberts, the brother of Virginia Giuffre, said lawmakers needed to “stop talking and act”.
He said: “My sister is not a political tool for you to use. These survivors are not political tools for you to use. These are real stories, real trauma.
“We will not let Virginia’s fight be in vain together. We will not let the predators win together.”
Another survivor, Danielle Bensky, said she was recruited by Epstein in 2004 and trapped in “a year-long cycle of abuse,” claiming Epstein threatened to “withhold care” for her mother, who had a brain tumour.
“I am calling for the American people. You have homework,” she said. “Call your senators. Please support this bill. Let’s get it all released.”
Virginia’s brother Sky Roberts and his wife Amanda at the Capitol on TuesdayCredit: Getty
The Epstein Files Transparency Act mandated the release of unclassified records, with few redactionsCredit: Reuters
Latest photo dump
Pressure intensified again on Thursday night, when a
The photos, some partially redacted, include chilling images showing handwritten passages from Lolita scrawled on a person’s foot, chest and neck.
One message reads: “She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock.”
Other phrases include “she was Lola in slacks” and “she was Polly at school”.
The novel tells the story of a 12-year-old girl groomed and sexually abused by a middle-aged man.
Other images show Epstein alongside women whose faces have been blacked out, including one photograph of him on a plane pointing out of a window.
The batch also features recognisable figures including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, writer and philosopher Noam Chomsky, Trump adviser and Qatari royal Sheikh Jabor Bin Yousef Bin Jassim Bin Jabor al Thani.
Bombshell new pictures of Jeffrey Epstein have been releasedCredit: House Oversight Committee
Epstein pictured next to an unidentified girlCredit: House Oversight Committee
Crossbows were also seen in the new batchCredit: House Oversight Committee
The Epstein Files Transparency Act mandates the release of over 300 gigabytes of recordsCredit: Alamy
There is no suggestion that anyone pictured is accused of wrongdoing.
Gates has previously said he made “a huge mistake” by spending time with Epstein.
The images also include maps of Epstein’s islands, a blueprint for developing Great St James Island, screenshots of text messages quoting prices for girls with details redacted, passports from several countries, bottles of pills, crossbows and ID documents.
A picture of a passport stated: “The bearer was convicted of a sex offense against a minor,” though it is unclear who it belongs to.
Another dump in November saw
And just last week, show several elite figures from former Prince Andrew to Donald Trump, Woody Allen and Richard Branson.
What comes next?
Republicans and Democrats alike have warned the current release may not be the end.
Lawmakers are already indicating that further votes could force out additional material not held by the justice department, including bank records and documents from Epstein’s estate.
An email uncovered in a previous release shows Epstein boasting to author Michael Wolff that he was “meticulous” about documentation.
Such language that has long fuelled suspicions he hoarded material as leverage over the powerful.
Virginia Giuffre echoed that claim in her book, writing that Epstein “explicitly talked about” using what he had collected as blackmail.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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