The US Department of Justice has released a new batch of files related to late financier Jeffrey Epstein, convicted of sexual crimes involving underage women. In total, more than three million new documents came to light.
The newly released information contains references to powerful figures already known for their close relationships with Epstein and his former partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, such as former Prince Andrew (who lost his title due to allegations against him in the billionaire pedophile scandal), former president Bill Clinton, businessman Elon Musk, President Donald Trump, as well as other names from the global political and business elite.
New details about the financier’s network of connections reveal that figures from Hollywood, Wall Street, Washington and the fashion world maintained their relationship with him even after his conviction for sexual crimes in 2008.
Email exchange between Epstein and Musk
Businessman Elon Musk, who gained political notoriety in Donald Trump’s second term and is considered one of the richest men in the world, found himself involved in the most recent wave of documents released last Friday.
The Justice Department released conversations between the two via email. Musk reportedly asked Epstein: “What day/night will be the busiest party on your island?” However, months earlier, the owner of X denied visiting the island in connection with the sex crimes.
In another message exchanged with Musk, Epstein asks how many people would be needed to prepare the helicopter for the island, to which Musk replied: “Just me and Talulah”, referring to Talulah Riley, the British actress and writer who married the tycoon twice.
The exchange of messages would have taken place in 2012 and reveals a little of the relationship between them, but leaves open the question of whether the Tesla owner actually visited the late pedophile’s private island.
Musk defended himself in a social media post on Saturday: “I had very little correspondence with Epstein and declined repeated invitations to come to his island or fly on his ‘Lolita Express,’ but I was well aware that some email exchanges with him could be misinterpreted and used by detractors to smear my name.”
New images of former Prince Andrew with an unknown woman
The new documents also revealed previously unseen photos of the former Prince Andrew, brother of King Charles III, with a woman of unknown age.
In one of the photographs, he appears leaning over a woman lying on the floor. In another, he places his hand on the abdomen of the same unidentified person, while a third unidentified figure rests his feet on a table behind the two.
The shocking disclosure prompted UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to summon Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as he is now known, to testify before the US Congress about his Jeffrey Epstein links.
The new files also expose an email exchange between Epstein and the former prince, dated August 2010, in which the financier invited the member of the royal family to dinner with a “friend” in London, introduced by him as an “intelligent, beautiful and trustworthy 26-year-old Russian woman”. The episode occurred just two years after Epstein was convicted of grooming minors for sexual purposes.
In documents released last month, the relationship with Epstein’s ex-partner was also exposed. One of the files from 2001 shows an email sent to the former socialite from the British family’s official Scottish residence.
In the conversation, a person identified as “A” asks Maxwell if she had “made some inappropriate new friends.”
Documents give details of Bill Clinton’s relationship with the financier
The newly released documents also revealed new details of former President Bill Clinton’s already known relationship with Epstein, as well as never-before-seen photos of the two.
One of the photographs gathered by the Department of Justice shows the former Democratic president shirtless in a hot tub accompanied by a person described by a department official as a “victim” of sexual abuse.
A series of emails attached to the files also expose frequent communications between Maxwell and members of Clinton’s team between 2001 and 2004.
A CNN analysis pointed out that it was during this same period that he traveled with his team on several occasions using the financier’s private plane. In response to the broadcaster, Clinton’s spokesman, Angel Ureña, denied that he had sent any email attached to the documents.
The conversations held between Epstein’s former companion and Clinton’s team were mostly related to logistical issues involving travel and dinners, and, sometimes, last-minute invitations to the former American president.
FBI compiles list of allegations against Trump, but no evidence
The latest batch of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, released by the US Department of Justice, also includes a list of allegations against President Donald Trump compiled by the FBI last year, which lack evidence.
The list includes at least a dozen allegations received by the agency, accusing the president of sexually abusing minors at Mar-a-Lago with Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for human trafficking.
The allegations, mentioned in an email exchange between federal agents, appear to have not been verified, with authorities noting in the communications that some is “second-hand information.”
The document indicates that in many cases, the people who made the allegations could not be contacted or that contact information was not provided.
Trump was a friend of Epstein during the 1980s and 1990s, and the relationship between the two has been questioned in recent months following several reports from the The Wall Street Journal revealed that they were closer than the president admitted.
A 2021 memo released by the FBI on Friday revealed that one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims reported to the agency that his former associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, once “introduced” her to Trump at a party and suggested she was “available.”
According to the document, the witness stated that, in the end, “nothing happened” between her and the current US president.
Another mention of Trump concerns an email exchange allegedly between Epstein and Maxwell, involving allegations from a woman who claimed to have worked at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort when she was 15 years old.
Epstein allegedly emailed a former executive at Trump’s resort empire named Nicholas Ribis about “the girl in the papers,” a reference to the whistleblower, when Epstein thought it happened in 2000, when she was 17.
“Who would I check out? I don’t know how Donald would react,” Epstein wrote to Ribis. The late financier then forwards the message to a sender identified as GMAX, who responds: “I thought you said not to involve Donald.”
The president has never received formal accusations about involvement with Epstein and denies all allegations against him.
Other relevant figures cited in the new files
New documents released by the Department of Justice continue to reveal the names of celebrities, businesses, sports figures and public figures such as Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
Among the three million pages released on Friday, Lutnick’s name appears. According to the documents, he and his wife planned to visit Epstein’s island in 2012, but it is unclear whether the visit actually took place. The secretary stated that he had no further contact with Epstein since 2005, when the couple were invited to coffee at Epstein’s house, which was next door.
Also linked to Epstein is the co-owner of the New York Giants, Steve Tisch, with whom Lutnick exchanged numerous messages, mainly in 2013, related to women, according to reports in the American press. Tisch’s name appears at least 440 times in the documents.
Tisch, 76, is president, co-owner and vice president of the Giants and has produced dozens of Hollywood films, including Forrest Gump.
