FBI Director Kash Patel said authorities have “no credible information” showing that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked women to anyone other than himself.
Answering questions from Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, on Tuesday, Patel said he had reviewed “a good amount” of Epstein’s files in the FBI’s possession. However, he added there was no evidence that Epstein trafficked young women or girls for sex to anyone besides himself.
“There is no credible information, none — if there were I would bring the case yesterday — that he trafficked to other individuals,” Patel said.
The Trump administration has faced heavy criticism recently over its decision to release full files on Epstein, the late financier and convicted child sex offender who had connections to wealthy and powerful people, including U.S. presidents and British royalty.
Hopes among President Donald Trump’s supporters that questions would finally be answered about the extent of Epstein’s crimes and possible involvement by elites were diminished when the administration said earlier this year that Epstein’s rumored “client list” did not exist — even though Attorney General Pam Bondi had previously said the list was on her desk.
The situation has also increased attention on Trump’s past ties to Epstein, with whom he was publicly friendly for years before a reported falling-out — especially after a letter allegedly sent by Trump to Epstein for his 50th birthday was revealed. In it, he supposedly wrote that the two shared “certain things in common.”
Trump has denied writing the letter and sued the Wall Street Journal for $10 billion after the newspaper first reported on it this summer.
Patel said the FBI hopes to release “everything we are legally permitted to” regarding Epstein as it works to comply with a subpoena from the House of Representatives.
He explained that accessing material about Epstein has been difficult because of what he called the “original sin” of the case — the 2008 non-prosecution agreement signed by Alexander Acosta, the lead federal prosecutor in Miami at the time and later Trump’s first Labor Secretary.
Patel told senators that the agreement locked much of the original investigative material away, making it hard to access later. The non-prosecution agreement has been widely criticized and led to Acosta’s resignation from the first Trump administration.
The 2019 prosecution of Epstein focused only on his alleged trafficking of women for himself, not other people, Patel said. Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell before his trial, in what was ruled a suicide by hanging.
Patel was also asked if Epstein was an asset for U.S. or foreign intelligence, but he said Epstein was not a source for the FBI.
The director also faced questions from senators about the ongoing investigation into the assassination of Charlie Kirk and a lawsuit from former agents who claim they were fired for political reasons.
