The Justice Department released millions more documents related to financier Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, more than a month after the Trump administration’s deadline passed to release the Epstein files under federal law, with new emails showing billionaires Elon Musk and Howard Lutnick making plans to visit Epstein’s island and Epstein making accusations against Bill Gates.
Ghislaine Maxwell’s mugshot was released as part of the Justice Department’s latest Epstein files release on Jan. 30.
Department of Justice
Key Takeaways
- The DOJ released approximately three million documents Friday, including 2,000 videos and 18,000 photos, part of the government’s requirement to release its full documents on Epstein under federal law—but coming more than a month after the files were required to be released by Dec. 19.
- The files released Friday include a wide variety of documents, including emails between Epstein and his powerful friends—including billionaire Elon Musk—documents related to Epstein and associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s times in prison and witness interviews with Epstein victims, though many are heavily redacted.
- Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche denied the Trump administration had “covered up” any of the Epstein files by failing to release them sooner, pointing to the millions of pages the government had to review and arguing, “There’s not some tranche of super-secret documents that we’re withholding.”
- The documents include materials from the government’s criminal investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, “multiple FBI investigations” and the government’s investigation into Epstein’s death, the DOJ said.
What Do The New Epstein Files Say About Trump?
The newly released Epstein files include a 2021 interview with an anonymous Epstein victim who alleges Maxwell “presented” her to Trump at a party in New York, with Maxwell telling the victim, “Oh I think he likes you. Aren’t you lucky. This is great.” The victim testified Maxwell “made clear” to Trump that the victim was “available” and the introduction “was set up very much like how Maxwell introduced [the victim] to Epstein.”
The victim said she spoke to Trump for approximately 20 minutes and was given a tour with Trump, Maxwell and Epstein present, but said “nothing happened” between her and the now-president. The files also include 2011 emails between Epstein and Maxwell about a person accusing Epstein of wrongdoing who previously worked at Mar-a-Lago—which may refer to victim Virginia Giuffre.
Maxwell responded to an email from Epstein asking if Trump would respond to the allegations by saying, “I thought you said not to involve Donald.” The files also include details from a complaint brought by an unnamed woman who accused Trump of raping her when she was 13 years old, which formed the basis for several lawsuits that have since been dropped. Her allegations have not been verified.
Epstein Accuses Bill Gates
The Epstein files include a 2013 email Epstein sent to himself, which is formatted as a resignation letter from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The email makes a number of allegations against Bill Gates, with Epstein writing that he—or whomever the email was about—was asked to participate “in things that have ranged from the morally inappropriate , to the ethically unsound,” along with “other things that get near and potentially over the line into the illegal.”
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The email alleged Gates had sought help with “get[ting] drugs, in order to deal with consequences of sex with russian girls … facilictating his illicit trysts, with married women” and being provided with Adderall. Gates has previously been connected to Epstein but has expressed regret for socializing with the financier, and has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with him.
In a statement to The New York Times on Friday, a spokesperson for the Gates Foundation said, “These claims — from a proven, disgruntled liar — are absolutely absurd and completely false. The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.”
Howard Lutnick Went To Epstein’s Island
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appeared to visit Epstein at his island in 2012, emails indicate, with messages showing Lutnick and Epstein, through their secretaries, making plans for Lutnick and his family to join Epstein for a meal on the financier’s island.
The gathering appeared to take place in December 2012, with an assistant telling Lutnick afterwards that Epstein had said, “Nice seeing you.” Lutnick has previously claimed he cut ties with Epstein in 2005, the Times notes, though emails released Friday show he interacted with Epstein at least through 2018, when the two were involved with plans to oppose construction by The Frick Collection, a museum near Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse.
He also invited Epstein to a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in 2015. When reached for comment Friday, The Times notes Lutnick said he hadn’t seen the latest documents, added, “I spent zero time with him,” and hung up the phone.
Ghislaine Maxwell Mugshot Revealed
The documents released Friday include a number of documents related to Maxwell’s time in prison, including the socialite’s mugshot and booking details. The tranche also included communications between Maxwell’s lawyers and the prison where she was being held before being transferred to a minimum-security facility last year, such as about getting a laptop to Maxwell and transferring her to more comfortable conditions amid service outages at the prison.
The files also include Maxwell’s U.S. naturalization certificate, which lists her home address as being at Epstein’s private island and describes her occupation as Epstein’s “manager.”
Epstein Discusses Women With Nfl Owner Steve Tisch
Emails from 2013 suggest Epstein put women in touch with billionaire Steven Tisch, the chairman and executive vice president of the New York Giants. Epstein described Tisch as a “new but [obviously] shared interest friend” and repeatedly discussed women with the billionaire in emails: In one exchange, Epstein invited Tisch to his home and asked if he should invite a Russian woman over as well, to which Tisch responded, “Is she fun?”, while on another occasion, Tisch asked Epstein if his “present was in NYC” and if he could “get my surprise to take to lunch tomorrow.”
Women also emailed Epstein about their dates with Tisch, The Athletic reports, and Epstein at one point told Tisch that he had done “very well” with a woman the billionaire had been out with, adding, “She is a little freaked by the age difference but go slow.” Tisch had previously asked Epstein if that woman was “pro or civilian,” to which Epstein said to call him because, “I don’t like records of these conversations.” The New York Giants have not yet responded to a request for comment.
Jeffrey Epstein’s Holiday Plans With Elon Musk
The new tranche of documents includes exchanges between Epstein and billionaire Elon Musk, who emails show had been in touch with Epstein about visiting his private island in 2012 and again over the holidays in 2013. The two emailed in November 2012 about Musk visiting Epstein’s island, with Musk asking Epstein, “What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?” It’s unclear if the visit ever happened, but Musk then emailed Epstein in 2013 that he would be in the St. Bart’s area over the holidays. He asked if there would be “a good time to visit,” to which Epstein responded he would send his helicopter to pick up Musk. The visit did not work out, with Musk later emailing he had to stay in New York and was “disappointed” because he “was really looking forward to finally spending some time together with just fun as the agenda.”
The billionaire has publicly claimed he “refused” to visit the island. Other emails suggest the two met later in 2013 at SpaceX, with Epstein thanking him “for the tour” and saying Musk would have enjoyed being at Epstein’s island over the holidays. In another email from 2013, Epstein asked if Musk could attend a dinner in April 2013.
They also spoke socially at the time, an email exchange about Musk’s sleep habits indicates. The two appeared to continue to meet as the years went by: A 2015 email from Emerati businessman Sultan Bin Sulayem asked Epstein if he “had your dinner with Elon Musk,” and in a 2017 email, attorney Jack Goldberger asked Epstein if he “[got] past” talking about “[one] way trips to Mars with Musk to ask him about his cars.”
The Tesla CEO has previously been reported to have associated with Epstein, but has never been accused of any wrongdoing.
Melania Emails Ghislaine Maxwell
The files include a 2002 email from a person named “Melania” to Maxwell—which may refer to First Lady Melania Trump, though that is not confirmed. In the email, titled “HI!”, Melania congratulates Maxwell on a recent story about Epstein in New York Magazine, writing, “You look great on the picture.”
Melania asked Maxwell about Palm Beach—where President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club is also located—and said she “can’t wait to go down,” before asking Maxwell to give her a call when she returns to New York. Maxwell responded and referred to Melania as “sweet pea,” saying she was on her way back to New York but she did “not think I have time to see you,” though she said she would still call.
Surprising Fact
The files also included readouts from calls made to the FBI’s tip line, which include unverified allegations about President Donald Trump committing wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. Emails noted that many claims are secondhand, and there is no evidence provided to corroborate any claims made.
Links to at least some of those tip line emails appeared to be removed by the DOJ Friday afternoon and it was unclear why. Forbes reached out to the Justice Department for comment before some of the links became accessible again around 3 p.m. EST. Analysis of one of the links before and after it became inaccessible on the DOJ website appeared to show no differences in text or redactions.
What Documents Are Not In Friday’s Release?
The Epstein files released Friday do not include duplicate documents, materials shielded by attorney-client privilege, items that are “completely unrelated” to the cases against Epstein and Maxwell and documents that are allowed to be withheld under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the DOJ said Friday.
The law allows the DOJ to withhold materials that are classified, depict violence, would identify victims or could compromise ongoing federal investigations.
Key Background
Epstein has been accused of sexually assaulting more than 100 women, many of whom were underage, and died in prison in 2019 after being indicted on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell has been identified as Epstein’s closest associate, and was convicted on sex trafficking charges after victims testified she helped recruit women for Epstein and took part in the alleged abuse. She has denied the allegations. Interest in Epstein’s case has kept up due to the financier’s association with numerous high-profile figures, and resurged last year after the DOJ announced it would not voluntarily release any more of its Epstein files. That prompted Congress to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November, which required the government to release its full Epstein files within 30 days. Friday’s release marks the largest release of documents in compliance with the law so far, after several smaller releases in December that included photos of former President Bill Clinton and flight logs showing President Donald Trump traveling on Epstein’s private plane with only the financier and a 20-year-old woman. Neither Clinton nor Trump have been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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