DOJ Releases New Epstein Files Featuring New Photos But Heavily Redacted Court Documents

After Congress passed a bill that was later signed by President Donald Trump, the long-awaited Epstein files have begun to be released.

The Justice Department published a new set of records tied to investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex trafficker who died by suicide in jail in 2019. The documents, posted on the DOJ website on the afternoon of Friday, Dec. 19, include thousands of pages of material and images showing Epstein with confidante Ghislaine Maxwell and other well-known figures, including Michael Jackson and former President Bill Clinton.

Several images depict Clinton, 79, in social settings with Maxwell. One shows him swimming in a pool with her, while another appears to show him in a hot tub with a woman whose face has been redacted. In other images, Clinton is seen on a private plane with a woman on his lap and dining with Mick Jagger and Maxwell.

Clinton has not been accused of wrongdoing, and his presence in the released materials does not, by itself, suggest misconduct. Previously, Clinton spokesperson Angel Ureña denied any wrongdoing on the former president’s behalf.

In a July 2019 statement, Ureña said, “President Clinton knows nothing about the terrible crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York.”

Ureña also said Clinton flew on Epstein’s jet a total of four times and visited Epstein’s Harlem office once, and that he was accompanied by his Secret Service detail on those occasions. “He’s not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade, and has never been to Little St. James Island, Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico, or his residence in Florida,” he said.

Ureña did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

The newly published materials also include grand jury testimony, call logs, and interview transcripts—many of them heavily redacted—including a 119-page grand jury filing. Among the documents is a “Massage for Dummies” book; Epstein has been accused of recruiting girls to his home to perform massages.

Even so, the DOJ release on Friday did not include everything the new law requires. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said earlier in the day that “several hundred thousand” pages of materials would not be released by the Dec. 19 deadline.

The push for further disclosure was driven by a House proposal sponsored by Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and co-sponsored by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie. The measure—formally titled the Epstein Files Transparency Act—directed the Justice Department to publish “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in DOJ’s possession that relate to the investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein.”

The House approved the bill by a near-unanimous 427–1 vote on Tuesday, Nov. 18, with Louisiana Republican Rep. Clay Higgins casting the only vote against it. The Senate passed the bill hours later, sending it to the president.

Trump had previously resisted releasing the files, repeatedly describing the Epstein case as “a hoax” that he said Democrats used to distract from his administration’s accomplishments and to shift attention away from the government shutdown, which became the longest in U.S. history before ending in early November.

However, days before the House vote, Trump said he did not “care” about the files’ release and encouraged House Republicans to support disclosure soon afterward.

“We have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax,” he wrote in a Nov. 16 Truth Social post.

That message marked a notable shift as the president faced public criticism from some allies over the issue. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene—one of Trump’s most prominent supporters in Congress—criticized his handling of the Epstein matter and broke with him publicly. Greene was also one of four House Republicans who signed a petition forcing the Nov. 18 vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, alongside Massie, Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, and South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace.

Friday’s release follows earlier disclosures this year. In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi released Epstein flight logs that included Trump’s name seven times. Bondi also made public an evidence list, along with redacted pages from a contact book and redacted pages from a masseuse list as part of what she described as the first phase of “declassified Epstein files.” A second phase was not released.

In July, The Wall Street Journal reported that the DOJ warned Trump in May that his name appeared multiple times in the Epstein files, before the department ultimately declined to release additional material. Senior administration officials told the outlet that Bondi and Blanche met with Trump at the White House and informed him that he was among many high-profile names included in the files.

According to the report, officials characterized the meeting as a routine briefing and said the files contained what they considered unverified hearsay about numerous people, including the president. Bondi and Blanche also reportedly told Trump the department would not publish more material because it contained child pornography and victims’ personal information.

The documents released on Dec. 19 are also distinct from another set of records that were previously provided to the House Oversight Committee in early November. That committee later published documents from the Epstein estate in which Trump was mentioned multiple times. In those materials, Epstein questioned the president’s mental state and implied he “knew about the girls” being trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell.