What we covered
• Documents related to the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein were released today on the Justice Department’s website. They include never-before-released photographs of former President Bill Clinton with Epstein and a 1996 description of a criminal complaint against the late convicted sex offender.
• Of the files provided, entire pages were redacted and the department withheld more from the documents than required by law. The DOJ also failed to release all the documents, as was called for in the bipartisan legislation passed last month.
• Rep. Thomas Massie, the Republican lawmaker who led the effort to force a vote on the legislation, said the partial release “grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law.” Some survivors also expressed frustration as they struggled to find information about their own cases.
Editor’s Note: This coverage contains some graphic and disturbing descriptions of sexual violence.
Our live coverage has ended. Catch up on the latest here.
No smoking guns and relatively few major revelations: Our takeaways on the latest Epstein file drop
The Justice Department released thousands of files related to sex offender and accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
The documents appears, at least after early reviews, to include no smoking guns and relatively few major revelations.
Here are some takeaways.
- More suspicion: After months of the administration stepping on its own toes and making it look like it had something to hide, it did itself few favors with its rollout. For one, the Justice Department didn’t release all the documents, as was required by the deadline today, 30 days after Congress passed its law. And secondly, the documents carried extensive redactions — and for more reasons than the law prescribed. The redactions were also inconsistent, with the same content being redacted in one instance but not in another.
- A heavy dose of Clinton: The documents, while only partial, featured a heavy dose of former President Bill Clinton. And the administration took great care to point that out. There were a number of never-before-released pictures of Clinton. But perhaps the most notable ones showed Clinton in water next to someone whose face was redacted. Clinton spokesman Angel Ureña the administration’s focus on the former president amounted to “shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever.”
- Lack of Trump: It’s really remarkable how little the president’s name and appearance show up in this first batch of documents, at least after early reviews. It was especially notable how many pictures of Clinton there were in the first batch of documents, compared to how few there were of Trump. This despite Trump and Epstein having had what clearly appears to be a close friendship for many years, as the New York Times recapped this week.
- Law enforcement warned: Aside from the politics here, this is really about the failure to bring Epstein to justice earlier. Epstein in the late 2000s cut a much-derided sweetheart deal before he was ultimately charged again in 2019, shortly before his suicide. And one entry in the new documents confirms just how long the system failed.
- More famous people: Powerful men keep getting wrapped up in these document dumps. This new dump, for instance, includes photos of Michael Jackson. In one photo, Jackson appears with Clinton and Diana Ross. (Jackson died in 2009. Ross and Jackson’s estate did not immediately comment to CNN.) In other photos dated from 2007, Epstein is pictured across a table from the late newsman Walter Cronkite.
Read more of our takeaways on today’s document release.
DOJ is "protecting themselves, not the victims," says Epstein survivor
Lisa Phillips was in her 20s when she met Jeffrey Epstein. She said she endured years of abuse from him and the people in his network.
She told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that she believes the Department of Justice was “protecting themselves, not the victims,” following the partial, heavily redacted release of the Epstein files.
Rep. Ro Khanna, who co-authored Epstein files law, says he’s considering impeaching AG Pam Bondi
Rep. Ro Khanna said he is considering filing articles of impeachment against Attorney General Pam Bondi, as the Justice Department failed to release all Epstein files as required by the legislation he helped write.
Earlier, he told reporters that he was “disappointed” with the materials produced today and that he will be exploring “all options” about what to do next.
Read up on reaction to today’s DOJ release and other details uncovered in the Epstein files
Reaction is piling in as we learn more tonight from the heavily redacted Jeffrey Epstein files released by the Department of Justice.
Get caught up on reactions:
- Epstein survivors: More than five hours after the documents were released, some of the late-pedophile’s survivors are feeling frustrated as they struggle to navigate the DOJ’s public “Epstein Library” in search of information about their own abuse and cases. Sources close to the survivors tell CNN that as of this evening, anxiety is still running high for some of the women who had waited for 30 days since the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act for the chance to search for information about their own experiences. For Epstein survivor Maria Farmer and her sister Annie, the partial release marks a moment of triumph. She and her sister have said for years that Maria had filed one of the first complaints against Epstein in the 1990s. An FBI document released today included a 1996 description of a criminal complaint against Epstein related to child pornography.
- Lawmakers: Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said the incomplete file release “is absolutely breaking the law.” Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who led the effort to force a vote on releasing the full files, also said the partial release does not comply with the law. GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York downplayed concerns over the DOJ not yet releasing all of its records, saying that the 30-day deadline may have been unrealistic. And the White House is framing the release as evidence of the administration’s transparency, while criticizing Democrats.
And here’s more of what we found in the files.
- Indictment details: Two months before Epstein’s 2019 federal sex trafficking indictment, a witness told investigators that he asked to see a girl’s identification to make sure she was underage and that he didn’t want “Spanish or dark” girls.
- More photos: Late CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite is pictured several times in the latest batch. A photo of pop icon Michael Jackson standing next to Epstein was among the released files.
- Clinton photo: A Justice Department spokesperson said the redacted person in one of the widely circulated photos of former President Bill Clinton in a hot tub is “a victim” of Epstein’s sexual abuse.
- Another photo shows Clinton in London with his former top adviser Doug Band and actor Kevin Spacey inside the Cabinet Room of the Churchill War Rooms.
- Search function: Meanwhile, the website that the Department of Justice used to publish the files was not immediately searchable — despite a search function being required in the law that mandated the documents’ release. The function eventually began working this evening.
- Resources: Some of the files contain details of sexual abuse that can be distressing. We’ve compiled a list of resources that can help.
CNN’s MJ Lee, Aleena Fayaz, Allison Gordon, Marshall Cohen, Devan Cole, Elise Hammond, Clare Foran, Annie Grayer and Kit Maher contributed reporting.
New batch of photos shows FBI’s evidence against Epstein
The Justice Department has released a new batch of photos – in addition to Friday’s earlier disclosures – showing some of the evidence gathered in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
The new files were posted to the Justice Department website after 7pm ET, approximately four hours after the initial massive tranche of materials was released earlier in the day. They contain about 120 photos, mostly depicting FBI evidence boxes and envelopes.
The materials include dozens of hard drives, old CDs and computers. One image appears to show a dog stuffed inside a box. It’s been previously reported that Epstein kept a taxidermied poodle.
It’s unclear where these pictures came from, but the Justice Department previously said some of the materials in Friday’s release would include information from Epstein-related search warrants. The FBI raided Epstein’s homes in Florida, New York, and his private island in the US Virgin Islands.
Bill Clinton was in hot tub with one of Epstein’s victims, DOJ official says
A Justice Department spokesperson said Friday that the redacted person in one of the new widely circulated photos of former President Bill Clinton in a hot tub is “a victim” of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse.
The spokesperson, Gates McGavick, posted the image to X and wrote, “Beloved Democrat President. The black box is added to protect a victim.”
The Epstein Files Transparency Act required the Justice Department to redact things that could potentially identify victims who were sexually abused. However, it’s not clear that every redaction in every photo was made to protect a confirmed victim. For instance, an older man’s face was redacted in some images.
Clinton has never been charged with any crimes or accused by law enforcement of any wrongdoing related to Epstein. A spokesperson for Clinton s aid in a statement Friday that the Trump administration was “shielding themselves from what comes next.”
The statement added that the former president did not know about Epstein’s crimes and had cut off the relationship before those crimes came to light.
“There are two types of people here,” the spokesperson, Angel Ureña, said. “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.”
In a letter sent to Congress Friday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the Justice Department’s extensive review of Epstein-related materials “did not … uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” which would include Clinton.
Before joining the Trump administration this year, McGavick worked for the Republican National Committee and several Republican lawmakers.
The Justice Department declined to comment when CNN asked about McGavick’s post.
CNN’s Michael Williams and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.
DOJ released grand jury material with black pages of redactions
Prior to Friday’s release, the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury material in cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were approved by the federal judges, clearing the way for the DOJ to publish the much-sought-after documents.
In the records published Friday night, however, 119 pages labeled as grand jury materials are completely redacted.
The grand jury material is interspliced between other largely redacted pages, as well as one explicit image of a woman.
The Justice Department does not categorize much of the released material, and it is unclear which documents may have been part of the grand jury material they were authorized to release.
CNN reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
DOJ acknowledges the possible “over-redaction” of Epstein files
The Justice Department told a federal court on Friday it was taking extreme caution to protect victims, including by potentially blacking out the faces of every woman in a photograph with Jeffrey Epstein, because it might not be possible for government lawyers to determine who are victims and who might not be.
Jay Clayton, US attorney for the Southern District of New York, acknowledged this approach could be called an “over-redaction,” echoing a criticism that has already surfaced regarding the files released Friday. But because of the 30-day time frame that Congress set for the release of hundreds of thousands of files, the Justice Department wanted to “err on the side of redacting to protecting victims.”
“Victim privacy interests counsel in favor of redacting the faces of women in photographs with Epstein even where not all the women are known to be victims because it is not practicable for the Department to identify every person in a photo with the information available to the Department,” Clayton wrote in a filing regarding releasing any grand jury material or evidence from the federal criminal cases against Epstein and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in New York.
“This approach to photographs could be viewed by some as an over-redaction, but the Department believes it should, in the compressed time frame, err on the side of redacting to protecting victims,” Ckayton wrote.
The filing highlights how difficult a task it is to consistently work through the hundreds of thousands of pages, some of which are decades old, in a way that balances court rules and other carve-outs for transparency.
Some redaction errors and inconsistencies have already been spotted as the files are being read.
Epstein survivors frustrated as they struggle to find information in DOJ’s library
More than three hours after the Justice Department released thousands of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, some of the late-pedophile’s survivors are feeling frustrated as they struggle to navigate the DOJ’s public “Epstein Library” in search of information about their own abuse and cases.
Sources close to the survivors tell CNN that as of Friday evening, anxiety is still running high for some of the women who had waited for 30 days since the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act for the chance to search for information about their own experiences.
But some of the women are finding the DOJ’s online search system to be challenging to navigate, and so far, have not had much luck in coming across validating information about their years-old experiences. (The search function on the Epstein documents didn’t work when they were first released Friday afternoon, but it appeared to work better later in the evening.)
One notable exception so far has been Maria Farmer. Friday’s DOJ disclosure included an FBI document that has a 1996 description of a criminal complaint against Epstein related to child pornography — the complaint that Farmer has long said she made decades ago.
That complaint, stamped September 3, 1996, underscores the fact that Epstein had been on the radar of law enforcement years before federal and state charges were brought against him in New York and Florida.
Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper, an emotional Annie Farmer, Maria’s sister, said: “Just to see it in writing and to know that they had this document this entire time — and how many people were harmed after that date? We’ve been saying it over and over, but to see it in black and white that way has been very emotional.”
Maria Farmer, one of the earliest known Epstein whistleblowers, said in a statement through her lawyer that her complaint was a clear sign that the FBI had “failed” to protect her and other Epstein victims even after her complaint.
Several hours after the Justice Department released thousands of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, some of the late-pedophile’s survivors are feeling frustrated as they struggle to navigate the DOJ’s public “Epstein Library” in search of information about their own abuse and cases. CNN's MJ Lee reports.
Catch up on the latest as CNN continues to go through the Epstein files
We’re continuing to go through the large volume of documents related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that were released today by the Justice Department.
Catch up on the latest:
- Clinton’s team responds: Bill Clinton’s spokesperson accused the Trump administration of “shielding themselves from what comes next,” saying in a statement that the former president did not know about Epstein’s crimes and had cut off the relationship before those crimes came to light.
- Inconsistent redactions: From black boxes to sticky notes, the redactions in the released files are far from uniform in the thousands of documents released today. The Justice Department appears to have been inconsistent when it came to protecting the identities of several men who are included in photographs in the documents.
- White House briefed: The DOJ briefed the White House on what was in the Epstein documents, a senior White House official said, though the White House did not receive the materials ahead of time.
- No evidence of blackmail: With the Justice Department again reviewing hundreds of thousands of pages of government-held documents, top prosecutors say they still haven’t found evidence showing Epstein blackmailed prominent figures — nor has it uncovered evidence that could prompt new criminal investigations.
- Trump departs Washington: As President Donald Trump departs Washington for the holidays, he is joined on Air Force One by his chief of staff Susie Wiles, according to the White House. Wiles said in an interview with Vanity Fair released this week that Attorney General Pam Bondi had “whiffed” the initial handling of the Epstein matter.
- Resources: Some of the documents released today contain details of sexual abuse that can be distressing. We’ve compiled a list of resources that can help.
CNN’s Holmes Lybrand, Elise Hammond, Kristen Holmes, Katelyn Polantz, Allison Gordon, Thomas Bordeaux, Kevin Liptak and Michael Williams contributed reporting.
This Live Story post has been updated after The White House corrected the list of people traveling with the president.
Witness told investigators Epstein sought underage victims and didn’t want "Spanish or dark" girls
Editor’s Note: This story contains graphic and disturbing descriptions of sexual violence.
Two months before Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 federal sex trafficking indictment, a witness told investigators that he asked to see a girl’s identification to make sure she was underage, according to newly released files.
The revelation was included in a 52-page document from May 2019 containing an investigator’s handwritten notes of an interview with the witness, whose name is redacted. The document also contains photographs of various women, some wearing swimsuits or other revealing outfits, who the witness told investigators spent time with Epstein and were possibly abused.
The notes indicate that the witness mentioned a “desperate time running out of girls.” The witness further told investigators that Epstein was frustrated by the older ages of some of the girls who were brought around — and insisted that he be brought “young” girls.
“At one point, [redacted] witnessed him asking for ID to girl, wanted make sure under 18 b/c he wasn’t believing them b/c [redacted] messed up by bringing more older girls,” the interview notes said.
The notes indicate that “JE” paid someone and “told her (to) keep looking for girls,” describing his preference for certain women.
The witness described the girls’ races, nationalities and complexions, adding that “JE didn’t want Spanish or dark girl[s],” and requested young girls “but not dark” girls.
In the interview, the witness described potential sexual abuse, including “a lot of touching” during some of these girls’ “topless” interactions with Epstein, where he sometimes made “crazy noises,” according to the document.
The witness told investigators that “JE” would ask “do you like it or are you enjoying it,” describing Epstein as “very visual.” The investigator’s notes describing the interview indicate that the witness grew emotional and was unable to provide further details at the time.
Markings on the first page of the document indicate that it is an FBI form and that the interview was conducted by the New York field office. Epstein was indicted in the Southern District of New York in June 2019 and but died by suicide in prison two months later.
Wiles, who said AG 'whiffed' initial handling of Epstein matter, joins Trump aboard Air Force One
As President Donald Trump departs Washington for the holidays, he is joined by a number of top officials, including his chief of staff Susie Wiles.
Initially, the White House said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche was traveling with the president, though Blanche wasn’t seen boarding along with other aides, and the White House later said he was not on the plane.
Wiles said in an interview with Vanity Fair released this week that Attorney General Pam Bondi had “whiffed” the initial handling of the Epstein matter.
After speaking at his rally in North Carolina, Trump is due in Palm Beach, Florida, for the holidays.
This Live Story post and headline have been updated after The White House corrected the list of people traveling with the president.
Famed newsman Walter Cronkite pictured in latest Epstein drop
Late CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite is pictured several times in the latest batch of Epstein documents released Friday.
In a series of photos labelled “Walter Cronkite 1/07,” Cronkite sits across from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on a couch next to another man.
Earlier this year, Cronkite’s name was listed in a trove of flight logs made public by the House Oversight Committee. According to the document, he travelled with Epstein decades after his retirement from Newark, New Jersey, to Epstein’s private island in St. Thomas in January 2007.
Maria Farmer, an Epstein survivor who reported him in the 1990s, is vindicated by a released document
Editor’s Note: This story contains graphic and disturbing descriptions of sexual violence.
The Justice Department’s partial release of its files related to Jeffrey Epstein on Friday marked a moment of triumph for Epstein survivor Maria Farmer and her sister Annie, who have said for years that Maria had filed one of the first complaints against Epstein in the 1990s.
An FBI document released Friday included a 1996 description of a criminal complaint against Epstein related to child pornography.
While the name of the complainant is redacted in the document, Maria Farmer’s lawyer, Jennifer Freeman, confirmed on CNN that the complaint was in fact made by her client.
The “facts of complaint” part of the document says that the woman — who describes herself as a professional artist — had taken photos of her underage sisters for her own personal artwork.
“Epstein stole the photos and negatives and is believed to have sold the pictures to potential buyers,” the document reads. “Epstein at one time requested (redacted) to take pictures of young girls at swimming pools.” It continued: “Epstein is now threatening (redacted) that if she tells anyone about the photos he will burn her house down.”
Freeman had previously told CNN that Farmer’s original complaint was one of the key documents she would be searching for when the DOJ’s Epstein files were released.
She said Friday evening that she is looking for more information from the files, including what the authorities did in response to Farmer’s complaint, when and why.
“Why didn’t they act to stop this?” Freeman said in an email to CNN.
The complaint, stamped September 3, 1996, underscores the fact that Epstein had been on the radar of law enforcement years before federal and state charges were brought against him in New York and Florida.
In a statement provided by the law firm representing Maria Farmer, the Epstein accuser said the FBI had “failed” her and other victims over the years.
Farmer’s sister, Annie, has previously said she was 16 when Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell abused her.
Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper, an emotional Annie Farmer said: “Just to see it in writing and to know that they had this document this entire time — and how many people were harmed after that date? We’ve been saying it over and over, but to see it in black and white that way has been very emotional.”
Inconsistent redactions present across Epstein files
From black boxes to sticky notes, the redactions in the Epstein files are far from uniform in the thousands of documents released Friday. The Justice Department appears to have been inconsistent when it came to protecting the identities of several men who are included in photographs in the documents.
In one series of photos, a young man’s face is initially covered with a black square. But in later images, his face is not redacted, with clear shots of him walking up a staircase and in a garage next to a luxury car. CNN has geolocated these photos to an opulent estate outside of Paris.
In another photo, a different man lying atop Ghislaine Maxwell is at first redacted. Elsewhere in the files, the same photo appears without his face redacted.
The Justice Department acknowledged to a federal court in New York Friday afternoon that the “size and scope” of the redaction process it undertook in recent weeks made the result “vulnerable to machine error” and “instances of human error.”
Justice Department officials expressed frustration over the speed at which they were required to process the files, CNN exclusively reported Thursday.
CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.
“This is absolutely breaking the law,” House Oversight Committee Democrat says of incomplete file release
While the Department of Justice did release thousands of documents related to the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein to comply with a law mandating it to do so by today, there are still more files that haven’t been released.
According to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the ongoing review process could be completed “over the next two weeks.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, says “this is absolutely breaking the law.”
“I mean they have not produced actually what they were required to do, which was all the files by today in a way that was searchable for the public and that is not what’s the case,” Garcia told CNN’s Jake Tapper tonight.
He commented on the “highly redacted” material and the fact that some of the files were already released to the public from various court cases and public records requests.
Garcia said that the public may only be seeing around 10% of information that the DOJ has, with half of that figure already having been released. The other half “is highly redacted,” Garcia said.
He called on President Donald Trump to “release all the files today and immediately.”
CNN’s Annie Grayer contributed reporting.
Justice Department says it still has no evidence showing Epstein blackmailed prominent figures
With the Justice Department again reviewing hundreds of thousands of pages of government-held documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein, top prosecutors say they still haven’t found evidence showing Epstein blackmailed prominent figures — nor has it uncovered evidence that could prompt new criminal investigations.
That assertion, which the department previously made in July, could continue to fuel frustration among those who are calling for more transparency and accountability following Epstein’s years of abuse.
When asked earlier on Fox News whether more charges could be expected – even after Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced and is serving federal prison time — Blanche said, as of now, no.
“As the president directed, it’s still being investigated. And I expect that will continue to happen. So, we, as of today, there is no new charges coming,” Blanche told Fox News.
DOJ briefed White House on what Epstein documents contained, official says
The Justice Department briefed the White House on what was in the Jeffrey Epstein documents released Friday, a senior White House official said, though the White House did not receive the materials ahead of time.
Soon after the documents were released, a White House spokeswoman declared that the Trump administration was “the most transparent in history,” and noted that President Donald Trump had called for investigation of Democrats associated with Epstein.
White House communication officials then began highlighting photos of former Democratic President Bill Clinton from the tranche.
Trump himself has not yet addressed the documents. He is set to speak at an event Friday night in North Carolina.
Clinton spokesperson says the ex-president and Epstein did not have a relationship when Epstein's crimes came to light
A statement Friday evening from Bill Clinton’s spokesperson accused the Trump administration of “shielding themselves from what comes next,” saying that the former president did not know about Epstein’s crimes and had cut off the relationship before those crimes came to light.
“The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton,” spokesperson Angel Ureña wrote in a post on X. “This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever.”
Ureña added: “They can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton.”
He added that there are two types of people as it relates to Epstein.
“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,” he said.
