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What or who is included in the documents?

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Watch: Images, cassettes and high-profile figures – What’s in the latest Epstein files?

The US justice department has released an initial tranche of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.

The documents, which include photos, videos and investigative documents, were highly anticipated after Congress passed a law mandating the files be released in their entirety by Friday.

However, Democrats and some Republicans accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) of violating its legal obligations after it said it would not be able to release all the documents by the deadline. Many details in the thousands of files have also been heavily redacted.

A number of famous faces are included in the first batch of files, including former US President Bill Clinton, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and musicians Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson.

Being named or pictured in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing. Many of those identified in the files or in previous releases related to Epstein have denied any wrongdoing.

Bill Clinton pictured in pool and hot tub

US Department of Justice Clinton is seen swimming in a pool. US Department of Justice

Several of the images released include former US President Bill Clinton.

One picture shows him swimming in a pool, and another shows him lying on his back with his hands behind his head in what appears to be a hot tub.

Clinton was photographed with Epstein several times over the 1990s and early 2000s, before the disgraced financier was first arrested. He has never been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epstein’s abuse, and has denied knowledge of his sex offending.

A spokesperson for Clinton commented on the new photos, saying they were decades old.

“They can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton. Never has, never will be,” Angel Ureña wrote on social media.

“There 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’re in the first. No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that.

“Everyone, especially MAGA, expects answers, not scapegoats.”

US Department of Justice Clinton is seen relaxing in what appears to be a hot tub. His hands are behind his headUS Department of Justice
US Department of Justice Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein stand closely together, looking right of the camera, both wearing paisley-print, silk shirtsUS Department of Justice

Epstein allegedly introduced Trump to 14-year-old girl

The US president is also mentioned in the tranche of files released by the justice department.

Court documents detail that Epstein allegedly introduced a 14-year-old girl to Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

During the alleged encounter in the 1990s, Epstein elbowed Trump and “playfully asked him”, in reference to the girl, “this is a good one, right?”, the document says.

Trump smiled and nodded in agreement, according to the lawsuit filed against Epstein’s estate and Ghislaine Maxwell in 2020.

The document says that “they both chuckled” and the girl felt uncomfortable, but “at the time, was too young to understand why”.

The victim alleges she was groomed and abused by Epstein over many years.

In the court filing, she makes no accusations against Trump.

The BBC has contacted the White House for comment.

The alleged episode is one of very few mentions of the president in the thousands of files released on Friday. He can be seen in several photos but his inclusion is minimal at best.

The Trump War Room, the official X account for the president’s political operation, instead posted photographs of Clinton after the release.

Trump’s press secretary also re-posted images of Clinton, saying “Oh my!”

However, there are still pages to be released.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has said that “several hundred thousand” pages of documents are still being reviewed and have yet to be made public.

The US president has previously said he was a friend of Epstein’s for years, but said they fell out in about 2004, years before Epstein was first arrested.

Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

Photo appears to show Andrew lying across laps

US Department of Justice A black and white image showing Andrew lying across the laps of womenUS Department of Justice

A photo in the released files appears to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lying across five people, whose faces are redacted.

Epstein’s convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell is seen in the image standing behind them.

Andrew has faced years of scrutiny over his past friendship with Epstein, who does not appear in the photo.

He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and said he did not “see, witness or suspect any behaviour of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction”.

Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Chris Tucker and Mick Jagger

US Department of Justice Epstein poses with Michael Jackson US Department of Justice

Epstein poses with Michael Jackson

The newly released documents include the widest assortment of celebrities we’ve seen in an Epstein file release so far.

The former financier was known for having connections across entertainment, politics and business.

Some images released by the DOJ show him with stars that include Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger and Diana Ross.

It is unclear where or when any of the photos were taken, or in what context. It’s also unclear if Epstein was associated with all of these figures or whether he attended these events. Previously released photos from Epstein’s estate have included photos that he did not take, from events where he was not in attendance.

In one of the newly released photos, Epstein is photographed with Michael Jackson. The pop idol is wearing a suit and Epstein is seen in a zip-up hoodie.

US Department of Justice Rolling Stones legend Mick Jagger is seen here posing with Clinton US Department of Justice

Rolling Stones legend Mick Jagger is seen here posing with Clinton

Another image of Jackson shows him with former US President Bill Clinton and Diana Ross. They are posing together in a small area and multiple other faces are redacted from the image.

Another photo in the thousands of files shows Rolling Stones legend Jagger posing for a photo with Clinton and a woman whose face is redacted. They are all in cocktail attire.

Several photos include the actor Chris Tucker. One shows him posing and seated next to Clinton at a dining table. Another shows him on aeroplane tarmac with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of Epstein.

The BBC has contacted Jagger, Tucker and Ross for comment. Clinton has previously denied knowledge of Epstein’s sex offending and a spokesperson on Friday said they were decades-old photos.

“This isn’t about Bill Clinton. Never has, never will be,” the spokesperson said.

US Department of Justice Michael Jackson and Diana Ross are photographed with Clinton US Department of Justice

Michael Jackson and Diana Ross are photographed with Clinton

US Department of Justice Actor Chris Tucker seen posing with convicted Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. They are on a tarmac at an airport posing near a jet. US Department of Justice

Actor Chris Tucker seen posing with convicted Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell

Maxwell at Downing Street

Another photo included in yesterday’s document release shows Ghislaine Maxwell posing in front of 10 Downing Street.

She is alone, and there is no context provided with the photo about why she is there or when the image was taken.

We do not know who was prime minister at the time the photo was taken, or in what capacity Maxwell was visiting Downing Street.

US Department of Justice Maxwell in white shirt and brown skirt and heels poses alone in front of the Downing St doorUS Department of Justice

No context is provided about when the photo is from or why Maxwell was at Downing Street

Epstein threatened to burn down house, accuser says

One of the first people to report Epstein is included in the files.

Maria Farmer, an artist who worked for Epstein, told the FBI in a 1996 report that he had stolen personal photos she took of her 12-year-old and 16-year-old sisters.

She said in a complaint that she believed he sold the photos to potential buyers, and said he threatened to burn her house down if she told anyone about it.

Her name is redacted in the files but Farmer confirmed the account was hers.

She notes in the report that Epstein had allegedly asked her to take pictures for him of young girls at swimming pools.

“Epstein is now threatening [redacted] that if she tells anyone about the photos he will burn her house down,” the report states.

Farmer said she feels vindicated after nearly 30 years.

“I feel redeemed,” she said.

Several hundred thousand pages still have not been released

Among the documents released on Friday are many that are redacted, including police statements, investigative reports and photos.

More than 550 pages of the files released on Friday were fully redacted, according to CBS, the BBC’s US partner. These include a document related to a grand jury investigation where 100 pages were entirely blacked out.

Officials, as outlined in the law, were allowed to redact materials to protect the identity of victims, or anything related to an active criminal investigation, but they were required by law to explain such redactions, which has not yet been done.

US Department of Justice A screenshot of a file which has fully redacted blank pagesUS Department of Justice

More than 100 pages in one PDF file have been blacked out

US Department of Justice A handwritten note shows partial pieces of informationUS Department of Justice

Some files are partially redacted, for example to withhold personal data such as addresses would be expected

US Department of Justice An Amazon receipt from 2005 addressed to Jeffrey Epstein for an order of books titled "SM 101: A Realistic Introduction"; "SlaveCraft: Roadmaps for Erotic Servitude--Principles, Skills and Tools"; "Training With Miss Abernathy: A Workbook for Erotic Slaves and Their Owners"US Department of Justice

In this instance no information has been withheld, despite the inclusion of an address for Epstein

The thousands of pages released on Friday are only a share of what is to come, according to the justice department.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department was releasing “several hundred thousand pages” on Friday and that he expected “several hundred thousand more” to be released over the coming weeks.

He told Fox & Friends that the department was heavily vetting each page of material to ensure “every victim – their name, their identity, their story, to the extent that it needs to be protected – is completely protected”. That is a process, he argued, that takes time.

The timing of when additional materials will be released is unclear, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed frustration.

Democrats including Congressman Ro Khanna have threatened action against members of the justice department, including impeachment or possible prosecution over the delay.

Khanna led with Republican Congressman Thomas Massie to force a vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, defying US President Donald Trump who at first urged his party to vote against the measure.

“The DOJ’s document dump of hundreds of thousands of pages failed to comply with the law,” he said on social media, adding in a video that all options were on the table and were being mulled over by him and Massie.

PPL’s royalty distributions increase by 19.9% to reach $72.8M in the fourth quarter of 2025.

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PPL, the UK’s collective management organization (CMO) for performers and recording rightsholders, has reported a 19.9% increase in payouts for the final quarter of 2025, boosted by international payments.

The CMO paid out £54.3 million on Wednesday (December 17), or USD $72.8 million at current exchange rates, for the final payout of the year. That’s up from £45.3 million in the same period a year earlier.

PPL attributed the performance to growing international collections.

“This year I believe PPL has delivered its largest international Q4 payment to recording rightsholders, helping to ensure that music continues to be a sustainable career choice for both performers and recording rightsholders,” said Shamus Damani, Consultant Director of Business Affairs at Defected Records.

“It is clear from these figures that PPL continues to bring tremendous value to the music industry, and our collaboration with them plays a major part in the continued success of our business.”

“PPL continues to bring tremendous value to the music industry, and our collaboration with them plays a major part in the continued success of our business.”

Shamus Damani, Defected Records

PPL has agreements with 63 international CMOs to distribute royalties generated in those markets. The company says performer collections from Denmark, Germany and the US increased due to ongoing data improvements, and from Sweden thanks to back payments under a private copying settlement.

“Recording rightsholders are receiving significant payments from Belgium this quarter following improved collaboration around repertoire data, as well as substantial payments from Germany, Hungary, Romania and Spain,” PPL said.

The latest payout went to 147,000 performers and recording rightsholders, either as direct members of PPL or indirectly through other CMOs, and included more than 8,500 first time payees. The year’s last royalty distribution includes revenue from VPL, which licenses music videos when they are played in public or broadcast on TV.

PPL said it made a “considerable” payout of £2.3 million ($3.1 million) under the Annual Supplementary Remuneration Fund, which was set up more than a decade ago when the UK extended the copyright on music to align with EU laws.

PPL says more than 20,000 non-featured performers are receiving annual supplementary royalties through the fund, which covers recordings released between 1963 and 1973. Among the recordings becoming eligible for ASR fund payments this year are Elton John‘s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Wizzard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day.

In total, PPL says it has paid out £277.7 million ($372.2 million) to performers and recording rightsholders in 2025.

PPL CEO Peter Leathem OBE said he’s “pleased to close the year with such a strong payment to performers and recording rightsholders in the UK and beyond.

“My thanks to all the PPL team who work to deliver this positive outcome, as well as all of the CMOs around the world with whom we collaborate on collections, data and technology developments. All of which is making the movement of payments around the world ever more effective and efficient for our members.”Music Business Worldwide

Hundreds Gather at Bondi Beach to Honor Swimmers and Surfers

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Hundreds of Swimmers and Surfers Honor Bondi Beach Victims

Hundreds of swimmers and surfers paddled out and held a moment of silence for the 15 victims killed and dozens injured during a Hanukkah festival at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.

How did I feel when I was out there? I thought I was OK, and then I really had a really good cry and it was really good. And I let it out and there’s going to be more crying, there’s going to be more tears. But the Jewish people spread light around the world. Our religion is about light, not about darkness, and we will overcome it like we always do, and we will get on with our lives. And we will never forget what happened, but we will get on with our lives.

Hundreds of swimmers and surfers paddled out and held a moment of silence for the 15 victims killed and dozens injured during a Hanukkah festival at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.

By Jorge Mitssunaga

December 19, 2025

Client Challenge: Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Success

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Client Challenge



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Jake Paul gives candid assessment of Anthony Joshua’s power following KO that resulted in ‘broken jaw’

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Jake Paul lasted longer than many people expected but still ultimately suffered a knockout defeat to Anthony Joshua on Friday.

The pair had their controversial match-up at the Kaseya Center in Miami, in a bout that was perceived as a huge mismatch heading into it.

While Joshua didn’t get the early stoppage that he was heavily tipped for, he eventually knocked out ‘The Problem Child’ in the sixth round of a mediocre battle, potentially setting up a clash with Tyson Fury in 2026.

Paul revealed in his post-fight interview that he believes he suffered a broken jaw in the fight, and also explained whether or not he was troubled by Joshua’s power.

“I’m feeling good. That was fun. I gave it my all. I had a blast. Anthony is a great fighter and I got my a*s beat but this is what this sport is about. I’m going to come back and keep winning. I’ve already won in every single way in life.

“I think my jaw is broken. It’s definitely broke. I’m going to come back and get a world championship belt at some point. I’m not surprised [I went six rounds]. I just got tired to be honest. It was so much handling his weight. If I could have had better cardio I could have kept on fighting. He hits hard, and I did my best.”

Paul also said that he does plan to continue with his boxing career, setting his sights on dropping back down to cruiserweight and making the ambitious goal of becoming world champion.

Classes resume at Islamic University of Gaza despite Israeli destruction | Updates on Israel-Palestine conflict

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Students at the Islamic University of Gaza have returned to in-person classes for the first time in two years, navigating a campus transformed into a site of mass displacement and utter devastation as a result of Israel’s genocidal war on the besieged Palestinian enclave.

This Gaza City university, which reopened following October’s ceasefire, now hosts about 500 displaced families sheltering inside buildings reduced to hollow shells by Israel’s relentless assault.

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Tents dot the grounds where lecture halls once stood, a stark illustration of Gaza’s dual crises of homelessness and educational collapse.

“We came here after being displaced from Jabalia because we had nowhere else to go,” said Atta Siam, one of those seeking refuge on campus. “But this place is for education. It’s not meant to be a shelter – it’s a place for our children to study.”

The partial resumption of classes has rekindled hopes for thousands of students, despite conditions that bear little resemblance to a functioning university.

UNESCO estimates more than 95 percent of higher education campuses across Gaza have been severely damaged or destroyed since the war began in October 2023.

First-year medical student Youmna Albaba said she had dreamed of attending a properly equipped university.

“I need a place where I can focus, that is fully qualified in every way,” she said. “But I haven’t found what I imagined here. Still, I have hope because we are building everything from scratch.”

Buildings across Gaza have been destroyed by Israel’s bombardment [Al Jazeera Screengrab]

What human rights groups and United Nations experts have termed “scholasticide” – the systematic obliteration of an education system – has left more than 750,000 Palestinian students without schooling for two consecutive academic years, according to the Gaza-based organisation Al Mezan Center for Human Rights.

Recent figures paint a devastating picture – 494 schools and universities have been partially or completely destroyed, with 137 reduced to rubble. The toll includes 12,800 students killed, along with 760 teachers and educational staff, and 150 academics and researchers, Al Mezan reported in January.

Isra University, which had been Gaza’s last remaining functioning university, was demolished by Israeli forces in January 2024.

At the Islamic University, professors are improvising with whatever resources remain amid power cuts, shortages of equipment and inadequate learning environments. Dr Adel Awadallah described covering exposed walls with plastic sheets to accommodate as many students as possible. “We’ve borrowed motors to generate electricity to operate the university equipment,” he said.

With only four classrooms operational, thousands of students are depending on these makeshift arrangements to continue their education.

UN experts warned in April 2024 that the scale of destruction may constitute a deliberate effort to dismantle Palestinian society’s foundations.

“When schools are destroyed, so too are hopes and dreams,” their statement read, calling the pattern of attacks systematic violence against educational infrastructure.

The challenges extend beyond physical destruction. Families struggling to secure food, water and medicine find supporting children’s education nearly impossible.

Remote learning initiatives by the Ministry of Education and UNRWA have been undermined by electricity blackouts, internet outages and ongoing displacement.

Yet students persist. Despite the trauma of more than two years of Israeli bombardment and the loss of family members, they have consistently identified returning to school as a top priority, a chance to reclaim normalcy and their futures.

As Youmna Albaba, the medical student, put it, “Despite all this, I am happy because I attend lectures in person. We are building everything from scratch.”

Determine fruit maturity using leaf scans instead of fruit samples

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It’s ironic … in order for farmers to know if their fruit is ripe, they regularly have to pick and analyze pieces of that fruit, reducing their yields. Utilizing a new technique, however, they could soon leave all the fruit intact, analyzing the leaves beside it instead.

The process is currently being developed by scientists at Spain’s Universitat Rovira i Virgili, and was tested over the course of 11 weeks on 12 nectarine trees in a commercial orchard.

In its present form, the technology utilizes two spectrometers to perform near-infrared and mid-infrared scans of the top surfaces and undersides of leaves immediately adjacent to the fruits. The manner in which the leaves absorb or reflect light emitted by each spectrometer reliably indicates the current ripeness of the fruit.

“The leaves undergo physiological and biochemical changes as the fruit ripens, due to the direct connection between the metabolism of the leaves and that of the fruit,” says team member Dr. Daniel Schorn. “These changes are reflected in their spectral fingerprint.”

The technique has so far proven to be a particularly accurate indicator of fruit weight and firmness. Other ripeness-related fruit properties – such as sugar content, pH, and acidity – aren’t as precisely indicated, although that could change as the system is developed further.

A nectarine leaf gets scanned as part of the study

Universitat Rovira i Virgili

It should be noted that ripeness can also be assessed by directly scanning a piece of fruit with a spectrometer, although doing so often leaves a mark on the skin, lowering the fruit’s market value.

The researchers hope that the technique will ultimately be carried out in the field using portable scanners. Not only could it indicate the ripeness of entire crops via representative pieces of fruit, it could even allow farmers to selectively pick only the ripe fruits from individual trees, leaving the rest to ripen over time.

The study is described in a paper that was recently published in the journal ACS Agricultural Science & Technology.

Source: Universitat Rovira i Virgili

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Australian state to ban incendiary chants following Bondi shooting

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EPA Close-up of Chris Minns wearing a blue shirt and tie at a press conference EPA

Chris Minns, Premier of New South Wales, has pushed for tougher hate speech laws following the Bondi attacks

The Australian state where the Bondi shooting occurred plans to ban the phrase “globalise the intifada” as part of a crackdown on “hateful” slogans.

New South Wales (NSW) premier Chris Minns has also called for a Royal Commission into the Bondi attack, marking the deadliest shooting in Australia in nearly 30 years.

Fifteen people were killed and dozens injured last Sunday when two gunmen, believed to have been motivated by “Islamic State ideology”, opened fire on a Jewish festival at the country’s most iconic beach.

Australia’s state and federal governments have announced a raft of measures to counter extremism since the attack.

Minns plans to recall the state parliament next week to pass through stricter hate speech and gun restrictions. Earlier this week, he also suggested he would tighten protest laws to scale back mass demonstrations to encourage “a summer of calm”.

The premier confirmed he would seek to classify the chant “globalise the intifada” as hate speech.

Two pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly shouting slogans involving intifada at a demonstration in central London.

The term intifada came into popular use during the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1987.

Some have described the term as a call for violence against Jewish people. Others have said it is a call for peaceful resistance to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and actions in Gaza.

Earlier this week, Minns, along with the NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane, attended the funeral Matilda, 10, who was the youngest victim of the Bondi shooting. He read out a poem dedicated to the young girl at the event.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese has announced a new gun buyback scheme to purchase surplus, newly banned and illegal firearms. Hundreds of thousands of guns will be collected and destroyed, the government predicts.

Around 1,000 lifeguards staged a tribute on Saturday, lining up arm-to-arm facing the ocean, on the shorelines of Bondi beach. Surf lifesaving teams at other beaches around Australia were photographed performing a similar memorial.

Through the week, Bondi’s surf volunteers have been commemorated as some of the heroes of the shooting. Lifeguard Jackson Doolan was photographed sprinting over from a neighbouring beach during the attack carrying a red medical supply bag.

Hundreds of swimmers and surfers paddled out at Bondi beach yesterday to create a giant circle to pay tribute to the victims of the attack.

On Sunday, Australia will hold a national day of reflection with the theme “light over darkness” marking precisely one week after the attack started with a minute’s silence at 6:47 pm (0747 GMT).

Flags will fly at half-mast and Australians are being asked to light a candle in their windows to honour the victims.

“Sixty seconds carved out from the noise of daily life, dedicated to 15 Australians who should be with us today,” prime minister Albanese told reporters Saturday.

“It will be a moment of pause to reflect and affirm that hatred and violence will never define us as Australians.”

Bondi’s attack was Australia’s worst mass shooting since Port Arthur in 1996, where 35 people were killed and prompted then-prime minister John Howard to introduce strict gun control measures.

Icon of Down Arrow Button

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The Justice Department released thousands of files Friday about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but the incomplete document dump did not break significant ground about the long-running criminal investigations of the financier or his ties to wealthy and powerful individuals.

The files included photographs of famous people who spent time with Epstein in the years before he came under suspicion, including some candid snapshots of Bill Clinton, who flew on Epstein’s jet and invited him to the White House in the years before the financier was accused of wrongdoing. But there was almost no material related to another old Epstein friend, President Donald Trump, aside from a few well-known images, sparing the White House from having to confront fresh questions about a relationship the administration has tried in vain to minimize.

The records, consisting largely of pictures but also including call logs, grand jury testimony, interview transcripts and other documents, arrived amid extraordinary anticipation that they might offer the most detailed look yet at nearly two decades worth of government scrutiny of Epstein’s sexual abuse of young women and underage girls. Yet the release, replete with redactions, seemed unlikely to satisfy the clamor for information given how many records had yet to be released and because some of the materials had already been made public.

Democrats and some Republicans seized on the limited release to accuse the Justice Department of failing to meet a congressionally set deadline to produce the files, while White House officials on social media gleefully promoted a photo of Clinton in a hot tub with a woman with a blacked-out face. The Trump administration touted the release as proof of its commitment to transparency, ignoring that the Justice Department just months ago said no more files would be released. Congress then passed a law mandating it.

In a letter to Congress, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote that the Justice Department was continuing to review files in its possession, was withholding some documents under exemptions meant to protect victims and expected additional disclosures by the end of the year.

Trump, who was friends with Epstein for years before the two had a falling-out, tried for months to keep the records sealed.

But bowing to political pressure from fellow Republicans, Trump last month signed a bill giving the Justice Department 30 days to release most of its files and communications related to Epstein, including information about the investigation into his death in a federal jail. The law set a deadline for Friday.

Limited details about Trump

Trump is hardly glimpsed in the files, with the small number of photos of him appearing to have been in the public domain for decades. Those include two in which Trump and Epstein are posing with now-first lady Melania Trump in February 2000 at an event at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Trump’s connection to Epstein is well-documented, but he has sought to distance himself from his former friend. He has said he cut off ties with Epstein after the financier hired young female employees from Mar-a-Lago and has repeatedly denied knowledge of his crimes.

The FBI and Justice Department abruptly announced in July that they would not be releasing any additional records, a decision that was supported by Trump. But the president reversed course once it became clear that congressional action was inevitable. He insisted the Epstein matter had become a distraction to the Republican agenda and releasing the records was the best way to move on.

The White House, meanwhile, has moved to shift focus away from Trump’s ties to Epstein, with Attorney General Pam Bondi last month saying that she had ordered a federal prosecutor to investigate Epstein’s connections to Trump’s political foes, including Clinton.

Neither Trump nor Clinton has ever been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and the mere inclusion of someone’s name in the files from the investigation does not imply otherwise.

Among other prominent Epstein contacts is the former Prince Andrew, who appears in a photograph released Friday wearing a tuxedo and lying on the laps of what appear to be several women who are seated, dressed in formalwear. Pop star Michael Jackson also appears in multiple photos, including one showing him standing next to a smiling Epstein.

New photos of Clinton

Unlike Trump, Clinton is featured prominently in the files, though the records included no explanation of how the photographs of the former president related to any investigation or the context surrounding them.

Some photos showed him on a private plane, including one with a woman, whose face is redacted, seated alongside him with her arm around him. Another shows him in a pool with Epstein’s longtime confidant, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, and a person whose face was also redacted. He is also seen in a hot tub with a woman whose face was redacted.

This undated, redacted photo released by the U.S. Department of Justice shows Ghislaine Maxwell and former President Bill Clinton swimming with an unknown person.

U.S. Department of Justice via AP

Senior Trump White House aides took to X to promote the Clinton photos.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote “Oh my!” and added a shocked face emoji in response to a photo of Clinton in the hot tub.

“They can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton,” Clinton spokesman Angel Ureña said in a statement.

“There are two types of people here,” he said. “The first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light. The second group continued relationships after that. We’re in the first. No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that.”

The Epstein investigations

After nearly two decades of court action, a voluminous number of Epstein records had already been public before Friday, including flight logs, address books, email correspondence, police reports, grand jury records, courtroom testimony and deposition transcripts.

Besides public curiosity about whether any of Epstein’s associates knew about or participated in the abuse, Epstein’s accusers have also sought answers about why federal authorities shut down their initial investigation into the allegations in 2008.

“Just put out the files,” said Marina Lacerda, who says she survived sexual assault by Epstein. “And stop redacting names that don’t need to be redacted.”

One of the few revelations in the documents was a copy of the earliest known concern about Epstein’s behavior — a report taken by the FBI of a woman in 1996 who believed photos and negatives she had taken of her 12-year-old and 16-year-old sisters for a personal art project had been stolen by Epstein. The documents don’t show what, if anything, the agency did with that complaint.

Police in Palm Beach, Florida, began investigating Epstein in 2005 after the family of a 14-year-old girl reported being molested at his mansion. The FBI joined the investigation. Authorities gathered testimony from multiple underage girls who said they’d been hired to give Epstein sexual massages.

Ultimately, prosecutors gave Epstein a deal that allowed him to avoid federal prosecution. He pleaded guilty to state prostitution charges involving someone under age 18 and was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Epstein’s accusers spent years in civil litigation trying to get that plea deal set aside. One of those women, Virginia Giuffre, accused Epstein of arranging for her to have sexual encounters, starting at age 17, with other men, including billionaires, famous academics, politicians and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then known as Britain’s Prince Andrew.

Mountbatten-Windsor denied ever having sex with Giuffre, but King Charles III stripped him of his royal titles this year.

Prosecutors never brought charges in connection with Giuffre’s claims, but her account fueled conspiracy theories about supposed government plots to protect the powerful. Giuffre died by suicide in April.

Federal prosecutors in New York brought new sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019, but he killed himself in jail after his arrest. Prosecutors then charged Maxwell, his longtime confidant, with recruiting underage girls for Epstein to abuse. She was convicted in 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.