The Justice Department is expected to release documents Thursday related to Jeffrey Epstein, with Attorney General Pam Bondi saying the documents could include “a lot of names” associated with the disgraced financier, as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have pressured the DOJ to disclose documents related to the government’s investigations into Epstein.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Cipriani Wall Street on March 15, 2005 in New York City.
Bondi told Fox News Wednesday the DOJ plans to release a “lot of flight logs, a lot of names, a lot of information" related to Epstein—who has been accused of sexually abusing more than 100 women, including minors—teasing, “I think tomorrow … you're going to see some Epstein information being released by my office.”
Bondi’s comments follow lawmakers publicly pushing the DOJ to release its Epstein files, with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., asking Tuesday on X what the status of the Epstein documents was and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., sending a letter to Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel asking for documents to be “promptly” released.
Democrats have also advocated for information to be made public, with Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., tweeting Tuesday that Bondi “still not releasing the EPSTEIN FILES is weird and raises the question of who she might be protecting,” and the X account for Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats writing, “Pam Bondi is sitting on the Epstein files right now. What’re you waiting for?”—also sharing photos of Epstein and associate Ghislaine Maxwell with President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk (neither have been accused of any wrongdoing).
Bondi said her office’s delay has been due to protecting information about Epstein’s victims, but said Trump gave a “directive” for her to review the documents.
It’s unclear what documents could be released beyond flight logs reflecting travel on Epstein’s private jet—many of which have already been made public in court filings—though Blackburn requested the release of the government’s “complete, unredacted” files on Epstein, including surveillance footage from Epstein’s Florida residence and any records in Maxwell’s possession, including her “little black book” allegedly containing contact information for Epstein’s associates and victims.
Bondi has suggested at least some documents will be released Thursday, though it’s unclear whether that could only include some of the materials the government plans to make public, or if the DOJ will release all of its Epstein-related documents at that time. It’s also not clear whether information in the documents will be redacted, though Blackburn pushed for the government to release full documents without redactions.
The imminent release of government documents related to Epstein has raised speculation it will include a “client list” of all the high-profile Epstein associates that participated in his sex crimes. It remains unclear what documents the government has and how those could identify anyone linked to Epstein, but journalist Julie K. Brown, who broke the story about Epstein’s crimes for the Miami Herald, said on X Wednesday, “There is no Jeffrey Epstein client list. Period. It's a figment of the internet's imagination — and a means to just slander people.”
A number of high-profile individuals have been previously reported as associating with Epstein, who was known to cultivate friendships with powerful people through his work as a financier. Most have not been accused of any wrongdoing. People that have been reported in court filings relating to Epstein include Prince Andrew, former President Bill Clinton, Trump, magician David Copperfield, Michael Jackson, Highbridge Capital co-founder Glenn Dubin, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner, former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former Vice President Al Gore. All living people referenced have denied wrongdoing, and many court filings mention their names in connection with Epstein, but do not allege they were involved in any crimes. Alleged victims have accused Prince Andrew and Dershowitz of having sex with underage women linked to Epstein, but both have both denied any wrongdoing, and Prince Andrew settled a civil case brought by alleged Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre accusing him of sexual assault.
Flight logs previously released in court have shown Trump flew on Epstein’s private jets at least seven times in the 1990s, with flight logs also showing Trump was accompanied on a 1995 flight by son Eric Trump and in 1994 by then-wife Marla Maples and daughter Tiffany Trump. The president is known to have been friends with Epstein and was referenced in court filings last year, but no evidence has ever suggested he participated in the financier’s sex crimes or had sex with any underage women. Trump has claimed to have cut ties with Epstein and reportedly barred the financier from his properties after criminal charges were filed against him. The president said in 2019 he “wasn’t a fan” of Epstein and hadn’t spoken with him in 15 years.
Democrats have shared photos of Musk with Maxwell in recent weeks as the billionaire has become a major decision maker in the Trump administration, but Musk has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein. The U.S. Virgin Islands subpoenaed Musk in 2023 as part of its lawsuit against JP Morgan Chase that alleged the bank helped enable Epstein’s crimes. The bank denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein, and the case was later settled in September 2023, with JP Morgan Chase paying $75 million. The subpoena—which Musk and his lawyers did not respond to—reportedly concerned whether Epstein referred Musk to JP Morgan, which Musk has vehemently denied. The billionaire called Epstein a “dumb crook” in posts regarding the subpoena, saying at the time, “This is idiotic on so many levels … 1. That cretin never advised me on anything whatsoever. 2. The notion that I would need or listen to financial advice from a dumb crook is absurd.”
The former president has also repeatedly been mentioned in court filings related to Epstein and appears on flight logs that have been released in court. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing, though alleged victims claimed in court filings unsealed last year that Epstein told a victim that the former president “likes them young,” and Clinton allegedly “threatened” Vanity Fair not to write articles about Epstein. (Former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter told CNN the incident “categorically did not happen.”) Clinton has strenuously denied having had any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and said he did not visit the financier’s private island or Florida residence. "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,” Clinton spokesperson Angel Urena said in a 2019 statement after Epstein’s indictment, stating the former president took four trips on Epstein’s plane in conjunction with his work for the Clinton Foundation, had two meetings in New York with Epstein, and had not spoken to the financier in “well over a decade.”
Epstein allegedly abused more than 100 women between 2002 and 2018, assembling an alleged network of underage women who were allegedly abused by him and associates. He was indicted in federal court in 2019 for sex trafficking and died in prison later that year. The hedge fund manager was arrested after previously avoiding a lengthy prison sentence in 2008, when Epstein signed a non-prosecution agreement with the federal government allowing him to avoid a possible life sentence by registering as a sex offender and pleading guilty to state crimes in Florida for soliciting a minor for prosecution. Maxwell was then sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for aiding in Epstein’s sex crimes, with a jury finding her guilty of conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors to participate in illegal sex acts, transporting a minor to participate in illegal sex acts, sex trafficking conspiracy, and sex trafficking of a minor. The Justice Department’s documents release comes after hundreds of pages of materials related to Epstein have already been released through various court cases, including a mass unsealing of documents last year in a case Giuffre brought against Maxwell, which had previously been settled.