Epstein files live updates as Justice Department releases huge new set of documents, photos

The Justice Department’s latest release of files on Epstein appears to be the largest yet, with more than 11,000 files, many of which are several pages long.

The release includes court records, emails, photos, newspaper clippings, spreadsheets, audio files and hundreds of video files.

President Trump is mentioned several times, although many of these instances appear in news clippings shared among DOJ employees.

The dataset also appears to include FBI documents, internal Department of Justice communications, subpoenas, other legal documents and records related to Epstein’s 2019 case. death in federal custodyaccording to an initial review from CBS News.

President Trump said Monday that last week distribution of thousands of photos extracts from government files on Jeffrey Epstein risked ensnaring “highly respected” people with no connection to the late sex offender’s crimes.

We asked him what he was thinking the emergence of photos of former President Bill Clinton, Mr Trump called him “terrible” and said he “always got along great” with the former president – and argued that others who appear in the photos may be unfairly tarred.

“I don’t like being shown pictures of Bill Clinton. I don’t like being shown pictures of other people. I think it’s a terrible thing,” the president told reporters. “I think Bill Clinton is a big guy, he can handle it. But you’ve probably exposed pictures of other people who innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago… and they are very respected bankers, lawyers and others.”

The president said Epstein was “all over Palm Beach” and that many people had encountered him.

Epstein was known for having relationships with the rich and powerful, and he socialized with both Clinton and Mr Trump at various times – although neither man was accused of wrongdoing.

Read more here.

A spokesman for former President Bill Clinton on Monday pushed the Justice Department to release “all remaining documents” in Jeffrey Epstein’s files that mention Clinton or include a photo of him, arguing that the former president has nothing to hide.

Several photos of Clinton were released Friday in the government’s initial release of files collected during its investigations into Epstein, including an image of Clinton sitting in a hot tub with an unidentified person. He has not been accused of wrongdoing.

Clinton spokesperson Angel Ureña said Monday that Attorney General Pam Bondi should “immediately release” everything she has about the former president, including photos, court records and internal Justice Department documents.

“[W]What the Justice Department has released so far, and the manner in which it has done so, makes one thing clear: someone or something is being protected. We don’t know who, what or why,” Ureña said. “But we do know this: We don’t need such protection.”

It is unclear whether the Justice Department has any previously unreleased records mentioning Clinton.

Ureña has acknowledged for years that Clinton traveled with Epstein on several occasions, but says Clinton had no knowledge of the late sex offender’s crimes. On Friday, Ureña accused the government of trying to scapegoat Clinton.

The Justice Department released a massive new trove of documents on Jeffrey Epstein on Tuesday.

The first batch of files arrived on Friday, December 19 and included five datasets.

The first data set was the largest of the lot. It included 3,158 photos of what appeared to be Epstein’s properties in Manhattan and the Virgin Islands, apparently taken by investigators.

The second set included 574 photos from Epstein’s travels and some images of prominent people. The third set included 67 PDF files, primarily inventories of photos found on CDs and DVDs and in albums. Many of these files contained redacted graphics.

The fourth batch of documents included 152 PDF files of call logs, phone recordings, handwritten notes and police files. The fifth group consisted of 120 images of hard drives, folders and boxes, apparently taken by investigators.

The final two batches of documents were released on Saturday. The sixth data set included 13 files of grand jury presentations and interview transcripts. The seventh includes 17 other files from grand jury proceedings, court records and an internal Justice Department transcript of an interview with the U.S. attorney involved in a previous federal investigation into Epstein in the mid-2000s.

The Justice Department is facing continued backlash over the partial disclosure of the Epstein files, with lawmakers and survivors denouncing the limited scope of the disclosures.

A group of survivors called on Congress to hold hearings and take legal action to demand compliance with the law.

“It is alarming that the United States Department of Justice, the law enforcement agency, has violated the law, both by withholding massive amounts of documents and by failing to redact the identities of survivors,” they said in a statement Monday.

Survivors said the government released “a fraction of the files” and that the leaked documents were “riddled with anomalous and extreme redactions, without any explanation.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced a resolution Monday that would direct the Upper House to “take legal action” against the Justice Department to demand that it comply with the law. The New York Democrat is expected to force a vote on the measure when the Senate reconvenes in the new year.

Read more here.