Jeffrey Epstein files latest: US Attorney General

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Jeffrey Epstein files latest: US Attorney General accuses FBI of withholding pages and demands Friday release

James Liddell

Fri, February 28, 2025 at 2:32 PM UTC

29 min read

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Pam Bondi has accused the FBI of withholding “thousands of pages” of Jeffrey Epstein documents as the U.S. attorney general demands that all documents be turned over by Friday morning.

In a public letter, Bondi asked newly-confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel to investigate why, after repeated requests for their release, thousands of documents related to the Epstein probe had allegedly been withheld.

The attorney general instructed the bureau field office in New York to turn over “all records, documents, audio and video recordings, and materials related to Jeffrey Epstein and his clients, regardless of how such information was obtained,” by 8 a.m. Friday

. It was not immediately clear whether Bondi’s office received the extra Epstein files requested.

In a post on X, Patel said that “there will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned.”

The highly anticipated “first phase” release related to the disgraced financier devolved into disappointment among conservative figures after it contained no major new allegations about Epstein nor his associates.

About 200 pages – split between 10 files – include a series of flight logs of Epstein’s private jet, a partly redacted “contacts list,” and a redacted list of “masseuses.”

Key points

Bondi's deadline for FBI to deliver 'full set' of Epstein files passes

In full: AG's letter to Kash Patel demanding remaining documents after claims 'thousands of pages' missing

'Phase one' of Epstein files released by DoJ – here's what they contain

Why is MAGA-world fuming over 'boring' papers?

Conservative influencers hold binders containing 'Epstein files'

Full list of names in disgraced financier’s contact book released by Pam Bondi

19:30 , Ariana Baio

Epstein files: Names in disgraced financier’s contact book released by Pam Bondi

Trump allies blame lack of control over DoJ for lacking Epstein report

18:30 , Ariana Baio

In a game of scapegoat, Elon Musk and Republican Congressman Thomas Massie blamed a lack of control over ‘bad eggs’ in the Department of Justice for the reason there was no new information related to the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein.

On Thursday, Attorney General Bondi released already public documents in the “Epstein Files”, disappointing many who subscribe to the theory that there was somewhat of a government coverup in the investigation.

Bondi blamed the FBI in New York for withholding documents.

Massie wrote on X that it “could take a whole” for Trump to establish “operational control” of the DoJ and the FBI – both of whom were blamed for not having the trove of documents that the public anticipated.

Musk chimed in that in order to establish control, they need to get rid of “the bad eggs” and promote “lower ranking good people”.

Musk defends Bondi amid criticism about releasing Epstein Files

17:30 , Ariana Baio

Elon Musk defended Attorney General Pam Bondi after right-wing circles launched criticisms about her failing to deliver new information regarding the Epstein Files, saying it would take time.

“People don’t understand that you don’t get instant power here,” Musk, a billionaire who has quickly ascended to power in the Trump administration, wrote on X.

Musk insinuated that Bondi was working with a “hostile crew” and that until she fires those they deem hostile and replaces them with loyalists, it would be “impossible” to do anything effectively.

Bondi accused the FBI field office in New York of withholding information related to the investigation of Epstein – blaming them for not being able to release new information.

Bondi went on Fox News on Wednesday to promise people she would release information on Thursday.

Why is there a government coverup conspiracy over Epstein case?

16:15 , Ariana Baio

Part of the reason Trump’s administration is pushing to release the so-called “Epstein Files” and advocating for transparency, despite much of the information already being public, is because conspiracy theories have plagued the case about the disgraced financier for years.

Epstein, who sexually abused children for decades allegedly with other high-profile individuals, was wealthy and well-connected and managed to commit his crimes in secrecy.

The public has always been skeptical of wealthy, powerful individuals doing bad things. With names like Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Donald Trump and Kevin Spacey mentioned in the same article as Epstein, it’s obvious why people float conspiracy theories.

Epstein’s sudden death by suicide in prison, shortly after he was arrested, also raised skepticism.

But many of the original theories began on right-wing media outlets. Data compiled by NewsWhip and analyzed by NPR found that many stories originated from sites like The Daily Wire and The Western Journal as well as conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s online talk show.

“Both outlets [Daily Wire and Western Journal] with massive social media audiences that mostly repackage professional journalism into narratives of conservative victimization and other right-wing themes,” NPR wrote.

Blaming the government, a scapegoat used by both sides of the aisle, is an easy tool that conservatives use to villainize politicians and policies they don’t approve of. The Trump administration has capitalized on this as well.

Release of Jeffrey Epstein files sparks anger among MAGA faithful

15:21 , Josh Marcus

Figures on the right reacted with anger on Thursday after the much-hyped release of federal files on the late Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased financier accused of running a sex trafficking ring involving minors, did not yield major new findings and featured some information that was already public.

Josh Marcus reports:

Release of Epstein files sparks MAGA anger: ‘The evil deep state LIED TO YOUR FACE’

Ex-Barclays boss heads to court to clear name from Epstein associations

14:49 , Karl Matchett

Jes Staley, the former chief executive of Barclays, is slated to appear in court Monday for a case that will dredge back up his links to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The hearing will not only unravel the American banker’s circumstances but also the history of his relationship with Epstein, who died in prison by suicide while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking underage women.

A large number of prominent people are set to either be mentioned by name or asked to appear to give evidence, including Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, Prince Andrew, UK ambassador to the US Lord Peter Mandelson and Bernie Madoff, the mind behind a $65 billion Ponzi scheme who died in 2021 after being sentenced to 150 years in jail.

Staley is seeking to clear his name after he was banned by the UK Financial Conduct Authority in 2023 from holding positions in financial institutions - plus fining him $2.3 million - for “recklessly approving ... two misleading statements about the nature of his relationship” with deceased sex offender Epstein.

How did Pam Bondi tee-up the Epstein files release?

14:21 , James Liddell

On Wednesday, Pam Bondi said that more files related to Jeffery Epstein would be released by the Department of Justice on Thursday. The attorney general has branded the documents as being “pretty sick.”

Bondi had faced mounting pressure from both sides of the political aisle to fulfill Donald Trump’s campaign promise and release the disgraced financier’s “client list.”

She told Fox News host Jesse Watters on Wednesday that “some Epstein information” should be made public Thursday after redactions are made regarding his victims’ identities.

Bondi, who stated the Epstein files are currently sitting on her desk, said that more than 250 alleged victims have been documented, a figure she told the host will “make you sick,” she said.

“So, we have to make sure that their identity is protected and their personal information,” she said. “I think tomorrow Jesse – breaking news right now – you’re going to see some Epstein information being released by my office.”

Flight logs, names and “a lot of information” is set to be revealed, Bondi said upon being probed about what information will explicitly be released.

“It’s pretty sick what that man did… along with his co-defendant,” she concluded.

Attorney General Pam Bondi sat down on Jesse Watters Primetime Wednesday to issue 'breaking news' about the Epstein files (Fox News)

Congresswoman furious after GOP House Judiciary Epstein document troll

13:55 , James Liddell

Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna, head of the congressional task force charged with releasing federal secrets, called for the person in charge of the House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee’s X account to be fired after rickrolling social media users.

The official government account wrote, ”EPSTEIN FILES RELEASED” only to include a link to musician Rick Astley’s song Never Gonna Give You Up – a form of trolling people.

“The amount of people hurt by Epstein is not a joke. Whoever posted this is going to get fired. Disgusting behavior,” Luna tweeted Thursday evening, sharing the now-removed link to the post.

Who are the MAGA influencers that brandished 'Epstein files' binders?

13:27 , James Liddell

A group of high-profile conservative political commentators and online personalities emerged from the White House on Thursday, holding binders labeled “The Epstein Files” after Attorney General Pam Bondi promised to release them publicly as part of President Donald Trump’s initiative to make the government more “transparent.”

The group of MAGA figures posed for photos outside of the West Wing, smiling, while holding up large white binders that claimed to contain “declassified” information related to Epstein – who spent decades sexually abusing dozens of children.

But who are they? Ariana Baio has the story.

Trump’s biggest MAGA fans seen holding ‘Phase 1’ of the Epstein files

Bondi's 8 a.m. deadline is up for FBI to deliver 'full set' of Epstein documents

13:01 , James Liddell

The deadline for the FBI to deliver the remaining Epstein documents to Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office by 8:00 a.m. is up.

In a letter sent to FBI Director Kash Patel Thursday, Bondi said that the bureau had failed on their alleged promise to deliver the “full set of documents” related to the disgraced financier.

“By 8:00 a.m. tomorrow, February 28, the FBI will deliver the full and complete Epstein files to my office, including all records, documents, audio and video recordings, and materials related to Jeffrey Epstein and his clients, regardless of how such information was obtained,” she wrote in the letter.

A separate Department of Justice statement Thursday said that Bondi “was later informed of thousands of pages of documents” that were “not previously disclosed.”

The attorney general’s deadline has now passed. It was not immediately clear whether Bondi’s office received the extra Epstein files requested.

Even right-wing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer questions those blaming 'deep state'

12:41 , James Liddell

Bondi instructs Patel to investigate FBI’s failure to deliver ‘full set’ of Epstein documents

12:21 , James Liddell

Attorney General Pam Bondi has instructed FBI Director Kash Patel to conduct an “immediate” investigation into the bureau’s perceived failure to deliver the “full set” of Jeffrey Epstein files.

In a letter sent to Patel Thursday, Bondi said she was “repeatedly assured” by the agency that she had received all documents related to the disgraced financier.

Along with requesting that all documents be placed on her desk by 8 a.m. Friday, Bondi said that Patel has two weeks to investigate the alleged mishap.

“I am also directing you to conduct an immediate investigation into why my order to the FBI was not followed,” she wrote in the letter.

“You will deliver to me a comprehensive report of your findings and proposed personnel action within 14 days.”

FBI has one hour to hand over 'thousands of pages' of Epstein files

12:00 , James Liddell

The FBI has just one hour to fulfil Pam Bondi’s request and deliver the remaining Epstein documents to her office by 8:00 a.m.

The attorney general instructed Kash Patel, the bureau’s freshly-confirmed director, in a letter Thursday to release “thousands of pages” of previously undisclosed files about the convicted sex offender

It followed the Department of Justice releasing just 200 pages of files that had no major new allegations about the late sex offender or his associates.

Democratic lawmaker fumes at DoJ after 'promise' of full Epstein files

11:52 , James Liddell

Epstein's flight logs reveal what we already knew: Donald Trump flew on the Lolita Express

11:36 , James Liddell

Previously released flight logs have shown that Donald Trump flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jets at least seven times in the 1990s – though the president has denied any knowledge of the sex offender’s abuse.

Documents prosecutors in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial in 2022 show Trump flew with Epstein numerous times on his private jet, a Boeing 727 called “Lolita Express,” with his former wife Marla Maples and his children Eric and Tiffany Trump, as well as a beauty queen and a senior aide to Bill Clinton.

Epstein often used the plane to ferry young women between New York and his primary residence in Palm Beach, where many of his alleged acts of sexual abuse are said to have taken place.

“We know he [Clinton] was on the plane, called the Lolita Express, multiple times. He has been a continued friend of his for many years,” Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News last month. Clinton has denied the claim.

“Contrast that with Donald Trump, who had not spoken to him [Epstein] for over a decade after he kicked him out of Mar-a-Lago for bad behavior.”

The pair did eventually fall out over a real estate dispute years before Epstein’s first arrest for soliciting prostitution. Trump said in 2019 that he “wasn’t a fan” of Epstein and hadn’t spoken with him since the early 2000s.

Epstein files contain no major new allegations

11:15 , James Liddell

The hyped “Phase 1” release of the Epstein files Thursday ended in disappointment for many conservative figures who voiced their disdain after they contained no major new allegations about the late sex offender or his associates – much of which has been circulated in the public domain for years.

Detailed across 200 pages – and 10 separate files – the papers include a series of flight logs from Epstein’s private jet, a partly-redacted “contacts list,” and a fully blacked-out list of more than 250 “masseuses.”

Much of the material was previously published material from the prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s girlfriend, several years after the disgraced financier took his own life while in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on new charges of trafficking teenage girls.

Over the years, thousands of pages of records have been released through lawsuits, Epstein’s criminal dockets, public disclosures and Freedom of Information Act requests.

In January 2024, a court unsealed the final batch of a trove of documents that had been collected as evidence in a lawsuit filed by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MTG 'proud' of Bondi and Patel despite facing raft of MAGA backlash

10:50 , James Liddell

Very little new information expected to be released, DoJ officials say

10:33

Very little new information is expected to be released after Attorney General Pam Bondi requested the release of “thousands of papers” concerning Jeffrey Epstein, claiming the FBI had withheld the “complete” list, according to a report.

Two senior Justice Department officials told NBC that the lack of new information would be due to how much has already been made public.

One of the DoJ staffers said they perceive the timing of the release of the Epstein files as a “distraction” from other matters, without specifying further.

FBI director says 'no stone will be left unturned' after scathing Bondi letter

10:04 , James Liddell

Jeffrey Epstein's old NYC home once sold for $51 million

09:41 , Alex Lang

Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein once lived in an opulent New York City home on 71st Street.

The home was raided in 2019 by FBI agents as they investigated the case against the disgraced financier.

The home sat vacant for years after the raid and Epstein’s prison suicide.

That was until 2021, when former Goldman Sachs executive Michael Daffey purchased the home for $51 million, according to Fox Business.

"Mr. Daffey had never previously been in the home, nor did he ever meet its owner. But he is a big believer in New York's future and will take the other side of all the people who say the city's best days may be in the past," Stu Loeser, a spokesman for Daffey, told Fox Business in a statement at the time.

Jeffrey Epstein’s New York Ccity home seen in 2019 (Getty Images)

Pam Bondi's full letter to Kash Patel demanding FBI release 'full and complete' Epstein files

09:19 , James Liddell

Attorney General Pam Bondi's full letter sent to FBI Director Kash Patel Thursday (DOJ)

Elon Musk says embattled Bondi and Patel 'thrown on ship with hostile crew'

08:55 , James Liddell

Ghislaine Maxwell continues to serve her sentence

08:23 , Alex Lang

Jeffrey Epstein’s lover, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted for her role in helping his sex trafficking ring. She was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison by a judge in 2020.

She remains behind bars to this day.

The jury found her guilty of recruiting and grooming four girls between 1994 and 2004 for sexual encounters with her former boyfriend Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison in 2019.

Here is what Maxwell had to say shortly before she was sentenced:

“I empathize deeply with all the victims in this case.

“I realize I have been convicted of assisting Jeffrey Epstein to commit these crimes. My association with Epstein will permanently stain me. It is the biggest regret of my life that I ever met him.

“I believe Jeffrey Epstein fooled all of those in his orbit. His victims considered him a mentor, friend, lover.

“Jeffrey Epstein should have stood before you. In 2005. In 2009. And again in 2019. But today it is for me to be sentenced.

“I am sorry for the pain you have experienced. I hope my conviction and harsh incarceration brings you peace and finality. I hope this date brings a terrible chapter to the end,” she said, adding she hoped the victims could “travel from darkness into the light.”

In 2018, a Miami Herald story helped expose Epstein

06:10 , Alex Lang

Jeffrey Epstein and his crimes flew under the radar for years — until a local reporter exposed him.

The Miami Herald drew praise for its coverage of Epstein and the allegations against him. The reporting helped shed light on his crimes and eventually led to federal charges.

Epstein was never convicted of those federal charges because he took his own life while in prison awaiting trial.

Here is a look at the Miami Herald’s 2018 case that helped expose Epstein.

Were the Epstein Files ever classified?

04:54 , Ariana Baio

The documents related to Jeffrey Epstein’s case were never considered classified materials, despite public misconceptions and binders given out today to MAGA figures featuring the words “declassified.”

Documents in the case were filed under seal due to the sensitive nature of the allegations and the involvement of children.

Courts typically protect the identity and privacy of children in cases, and that is especially heightened in allegations involving sexual abuse.

A look back: Coverage from Epstein's death

03:45 , Alex Lang

Wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead in his prison cell in New York while awaiting trial for child sex trafficking charges, officials have said.

The billionaire reportedly hanged himself in his Lower Manhattan prison cell, according to multiple US reports.

His body was found in the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York on Saturday morning at around 7.30am.

That is how The Independent started its coverage of Epstein’s suicide while awaiting trial. While some still question how he died, his death was ruled a suicide.

He was awaiting trial for sex-trafficking and abusing minors for decades.

Here is a look back at the immediate coverage of his death:

Jeffrey Epstein takes own life in prison, say reports

Even some longtime Trump backers are questioning the release

02:42 , Alex Lang

Social media is filled with reactions to the release of files related to Jeffery Epstein. While some of Trump’s faithful were seen holding binders with files, others have questioned the release.

Conservative commentator Candace Owens was one of those posters. She questioned why not all the information was being released immediately.

Many FBI files already released

01:41 , Alex Lang

The FBI’s website includes many links to files related to Jeffrey Epstein that have already been released.

The so called ‘vault’ includes public information on some of the FBI’s most asked about cases. The mass suicide at Jonestown, profiles on mobsters and the Robert F. Kennedy assassination are just some of the files that have been released on the FBI’s website.

Here is a link to the Epstein files already released through the FBI’s public vault.

MAGA-world is furious the Epstein Files are 'boring'

01:20 , Josh Marcus

“THIS IS NOT WHAT WE OR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ASKED FOR and a complete disappointment,” Representative Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican member of the House Oversight Committee, wrote on X after the release, adding her committee hadn’t reviewed the release. “GET US THE INFORMATION WE ASKED FOR!”

Former One America News Network host Liz Wheeler, one of the right-wing figures who got access to the newly released files, was also dismayed, and claimed the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) was hiding unspecified information.

“We’re talking recordings, evidence, etc. The juicy stuff. Names,” Wheeler wrote on X. “These swamp creatures at SDNY deceived Bondi, Kash, and YOU. Be outraged that the binder is boring. You should be. Because the evil deep state LIED TO YOUR FACE.”

Get the details in our full story.

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Jeffrey Epstein files latest: US Attorney General

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