WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday released government documents related to wealthy financier , but the first wave of files posted on the Justice Department website have largely been circulating in the public domain for years and didn't include any new bombshells about
The small batch of documents included copies of flight logs from Epstein鈥檚 private plane, which have long been available in multiple court cases, and a heavily redacted photocopy of an address book purportedly compiled by Epstein and his longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell, which has been cited in media accounts for many years.
The Justice Department also released a blacked-out list of masseuses and an evidence list showing entries for more than 150 items, including nude images, massage tables, sex toys and other items. There wasn't any indication whether the list was from Epstein's case, Maxwell's case or some other investigation.
Bondi had teased the documents during a Fox News appearance Wednesday, declaring, 鈥淏reaking news right now: You鈥檙e going to see some Epstein information released.鈥� The Justice Department said it was making the documents public to show its commitment to transparency.
President Donald Trump, who was in office when Epstein was arrested in 2019, suggested while campaigning last year that he鈥檇 seek to open up the government鈥檚 files.
But the rollout of the documents 鈥� which were first given to political commentators at the White House hours earlier in binders that read 鈥淭he Epstein Files: Phase I鈥� 鈥� showed the administration鈥檚 penchant for showmanship and preference for conservative influencers with large social media followings.
The Justice Department didn鈥檛 post them on its website until hours later, along with a note downplaying their significance. 鈥淭he first phase of declassified files largely contains documents that have been previously leaked but never released in a formal capacity by the U.S. Government,鈥� the note said.
The documents are unlikely to satisfy online sleuths eager for fresh details about Epstein鈥檚 crimes and his connections to famous people, which have long been the subject of intense media scrutiny. The lack of new information drew criticism even from some conservatives.
鈥淕ET US THE INFORMATION WE ASKED FOR!鈥� Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., wrote on social media, calling the rollout a 鈥渃omplete disappointment.鈥�
Bondi suggested in a Thursday letter to FBI Director that more records were recently discovered. She ordered the FBI to hand over 鈥渢he full and complete Epstein files鈥� to her by Friday morning, and directed Patel to 鈥渃onduct an immediate investigation鈥� into why her order to the FBI to turn over all documents was not followed.
Patel vowed in a post on X to ensure that all documents are provided to Justice Department leadership.
鈥淚f there are gaps, we will find them. If records have been hidden, we will uncover them. And we will bring everything we find to the DOJ to be fully assessed and transparently disseminated to the American people as it should be,鈥� he said.
President Donald Trump, who was in office when Epstein was arrested, suggested while campaigning last year that he'd seek to open up the government's files.
Epstein was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls in the early 2000s, but wound up serving just 13 months in jail. He was indicted on federal charges in New York in 2019, more than a decade after he secretly struck a deal with federal prosecutors in Florida to dispose of similar charges of sex trafficking.
The case has drawn widespread attention because of Epstein and his former girlfriend links to royals, presidents and billionaires. Maxwell herself is the daughter of the late British media tycoon Robert Maxwell, who once owned the New York Daily News.
Over the years, thousands of pages of records have been released through lawsuits, Epstein鈥檚 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 .
Much of the material, including transcripts of victim interviews and old police reports, had already been publicly known. They included mentions of Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Britain's Prince Andrew and magician David Copperfield, as well as testimony from one victim who said she met Michael Jackson at Epstein鈥檚 Florida home but nothing untoward happened with him.
The previously released files included a 2016 deposition in which an accuser recounted spending several hours with Epstein at Trump鈥檚 Atlantic City casino but didn鈥檛 say if she actually met Trump and did not accuse him of any wrongdoing. Trump has also said that he once thought Epstein was a 鈥渢errific guy,鈥� but that they later had a falling out.
In 2023, The Associated Press obtained shedding light on the final days of Epstein鈥檚 life at a now-shuttered federal jail in Manhattan. They included emails between jail officials, psychological evaluations, internal agency reports, memos and other records.
The Justice Department鈥檚 Inspector General later issued a report finding that a 鈥渃ombination of negligence, misconduct and outright job performance failures鈥� by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and jail workers enabled Epstein to take his own life in August 2019. The watchdog report found no evidence of foul play.
_____ Sisak reported from New York.
Alanna Durkin Richer And Michael R. Sisak, The Associated Press
