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Justice Department releases thousands more files in connection with Epstein and Maxwell investigations
Alex Woodward in New York Tuesday 23 December 2025 20:49 GMT- Bookmark
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CloseTrump says Epstein files are distracting from his agenda and could 'ruin' reputations
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The Department of Justice has published thousands of documents in another batch of files from investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, marking the largest release yet, with many references to President Donald Trump.
Tuesday’s newly released documents include hundreds of emails and other correspondence from law enforcement and prosecutors investigating Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein in the wake of his death in prison in 2019, which was ruled a suicide.
The files also reveal investigators identified potential co-conspirators whose names have not been publicly revealed, and the Justice Department’s partial and heavily redacted release of materials has not yet advanced the public’s understanding of the scope of Epstein's crimes and connections to an alleged sex trafficking ring accused of exploiting and abusing young girls.
Trump, who had a yearslong relationship with Epstein until the early 2000s, is not accused of wrongdoing in connection with his crimes, and one’s appearance within the files does not suggest otherwise. The Justice Department immediately leapt to his defense Tuesday, claiming the files contain “untrue and sensationalist claims” that they suggested were used to influence the 2020 presidential election.
“To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already,” the statement said. “Nevertheless, out of our commitment to the law and transparency, the DOJ is releasing these documents with the legally required protections for Epstein’s victims.”
open image in galleryNewly released documents and images from investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell include a prosecutor’s claim that Donald Trump may have flown on the sex offender’s jet ‘many more times’ than previously known. (via REUTERS)Trump appeared ‘many more times’ on Epstein’s flight logs
In one message from January 2020, a federal prosecutor in Manhattan claimed that flight records showed Trump “traveled on Epstein’s private jet many more times than previously has been reported (or that we were aware),” including during the period where prosecutors were preparing to charge in the case against Maxwell.
There were at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996 in which Trump was a passenger, according to the message. Maxwell was also present on at least four of those flights, according to an assistant U.S. attorney, whose name is redacted.
open image in galleryAn email from 2020 discussing Jeffrey Epstein's private jet flight records mentioned Donald Trump (Department of Justice)“We’ve just finished reviewing the full records (more than 100 pages of very small script) and didn’t want any of this to be a surprise down the road,” the prosecutor added.
At various times, Trump traveled with Marla Maples, his daughter Tiffany, and his son Eric, according to the message.
On one flight in 1993, Trump and Epstein are the only two listed passengers, and on another, the only three passengers are Epstein, Trump, and a 20-year-old passenger whose name is redacted. On two other flights, two passengers “were women who would be possible witnesses in a Maxwell case,” the prosecutor wrote.
The messages did not include any details about the flights other than the passengers.
Mar-a-Lago factors into evidence
The documents include several tips collected by the FBI about Trump’s involvement with Epstein and parties at their properties in the early 2000s. The messages do not state whether any follow-up investigations were pursued or if the allegations are corroborated.
A message from an investigator in June 2021 reported an image with Trump with Maxwell that was discovered on Steve Bannon’s phone. Bannon, the far-right media personality and former Trump adviser, is seen in several undated photographs alongside Epstein in documents submitted by the Justice Department.
open image in galleryFederal prosecutors subpoenaed Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in 2021 for employment records as they prosecuted Maxwell, documents show (Department of Justice)Federal prosecutors also subpoenaed Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort that year for employment records as they prosecuted Maxwell, documents show.
A subpoena request from October 2021 seeks “any and all employment records” related to a person whose name has been redacted.
Speaking from Mar-a-Lago in his first public remarks about the documents Monday night, the president said Epstein was “all over Palm Beach” and many people crossed paths with him.
“You probably have pictures being exposed of other people that innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago,” Trump said. “A lot of people are very angry that pictures are being released of other people that really had nothing to do with Epstein, but they’re in a picture with him because he was at a party, and you ruin the reputation of somebody.”
An unclassified document from the FBI in October 2020 also recounts allegations from a woman who attended a party in Palm Beach 20 years earlier. At the party, she was told that Trump had invited her and others to a party at Mar-a-Lago, but she was told “it was for prostitutes.”
Investigators looked into 10 Epstein co-conspirators
FBI Director Kash Patel testified to senators earlier this year there was “no credible information” that Epstein trafficked women and girls to anyone but himself, though members of Congress investigating Epstein identified at least 20 alleged co-conspirators whose names were provided by victims cooperating with law enforcement.
Newly released documents in the Epstein files reveal that investigators identified at least 10 co-conspirators in Epstein’s sex trafficking case in 2019, none of whom have been publicly revealed.
Three of those alleged co-conspirators lived in Florida and were subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury. There were others in Boston, New York City and Connecticut, according to emails from July 2019.
One is a “wealthy business man in Ohio,” according to one message.
open image in galleryA photograph of Maxwell and Trump is included in a batch of files from the Justice Department published December 23 (Department of Justice)After Epstein’s death in 2019, prosecutors produced several memos determining whether to charge alleged conspirators in his case, according to the documents.
But the files released by the Justice Department only references the memos — not the documents themselves.
If made public, those memos could reveal the previously unreported decision-making among prosecutors that led to the sex trafficking cases against Epstein and Maxwell. So far, they are the only people to face criminal charges in connection with their abuse.
Epstein’s ‘fake’ letter to Larry Nassar mentions Trump
A letter from “J. Epstein” from “Manhattan Correctional” to Larry Nassar, the former women's gymnastics team doctor convicted of exploiting and sexually assaulting hundreds of young athletes, was among documents released by the Justice Department.
The letter is postmarked August 13, 2019, three days after Epstein’s death. It was marked “return to sender” and discovered in a mailroom more than a month later.
open image in galleryFederal investigators were probing the authenticity of a letter from 'J Epstein' to 'Larry Nassar' while Epstein was incarcerated in 2019, according to documents from the Justice Department (Department of Justice)The existence of the letter was previously reported, and additional documents in the files showed investigators trying to authenticate it. It is unclear whether they reached a conclusion.
Hours after publishing the document, the Justice Department determined the letter is “fake.”
The writing does not appear to match Epstein’s and was postmarked from Virginia, not New York, where Epstein was jailed, according to the Justice Department.
“This fake letter serves as a reminder that just because a document is released by the Department of Justice does not make the allegations or claims within the document factual,” the statement said.
“As you know by now, I have taken the ‘short route’ home. Good luck!” the postcard reads.
It continues: “We shared one thing . . . our love [and] caring for young ladies at the hope they'd reach their full potential. Our president shares our love of young, nubile girls. When a young beauty walked by he loved to ‘grab snatch,’ whereas we ended up snatching grub in the mess halls of the system.”
open image in galleryA composite of documents dated June 8, 2020, shows an email exchange between an unnamed lawyer from New York and former US attorney Geoff Berman, with regards to ongoing investigations related to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's association with Jeffrey Epstein (Department of Justice)Documents mention Royal Family
In a series of emails from 2001, Maxwell writes to a person identified as “A” or “The Invisible Man” who appears to be connected to the British royal family. “A” wrote to Maxwell in August 2021, saying, “I am up here at Balmoral Summer Camp for the Royal Family.”
“Have you found me some new inappropriate friends?” the email says.
Maxwell responds: “So sorry to dissappoint [sic] you, however the truth must be told. I have only been able to find appropriate friends.”
“A” responds: “Distraught!”
open image in galleryAn email between Ghislaine Maxwell and a person identified as ‘The Invisible Man’ discusses the Royal Family (Department of Justice)The person in those messages has not been identified. But Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, was introduced to Epstein in 1999 by Maxwell and has previously been identified in photographs and other documents connected to the pair. He has not been charged with any crimes in connection with Epstein and has denied any wrongdoing.
Another email exchange between an unnamed lawyer and former U.S Attorney Geoffrey Berman discusses ongoing investigations related to Mountbatten-Windsor's association with Epstein.
open image in galleryAnd undated photograph shows Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell near Balmoral (Department of Justice)Victims and investigators describe abuse
An undated statement from an alleged victim of Epstein and Maxwell include allegations that the financier “and other men” blindfolded and raped her in an underground room when she was 17 years old.
Another victim described Maxwell as a “psychopath” in a December 2020 statement submitted before Maxwell was convicted of participating in a scheme to groom and abuse young women and girls.
“She has lived a life of privilege, abusing her position of power to live beyond the rules. Fleeing the country in order to escape once more would fit with her long history of anti-social behavior,” the statement says. “I believe that she is a psychopath… She has demonstrated a complete failure to accept responsibility in any way for her actions and demonstrated a complete lack of remorse for her central role in procuring victims for Epstein. She was both charming and manipulative with me during the grooming process.”
open image in gallerySurvivors have criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the files, including ‘extreme redactions’ and failing to redact some victims’ identities (AFP/Getty)An assistant U.S. attorney in Florida also wrote to investigators February 1, 2008, after interviewing “three of the girls” in connection with an initial investigation into Epstein.
“I wish you could have been there to see how much this has affected them,” the prosecutor said.
“One girl broke down sobbing so that we had to stop the interview twice within a 20-minute span. She regained her composure enough to continue a short time, but she said that she was having nightmares about Epstein coming after her and she started to break down again, so we stopped the interview,” the person added.
More than a dozen abuse survivors have criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the files, which were “riddled with abnormal and extreme redactions with no explanation” when they were first published last week, according to their statement.
Many victim identities were “unredacted, causing real and immediate harm,” they wrote Monday.
“While clearer communication would not change the fact that a law was broken, its absence suggests an ongoing intent to keep survivors and the public in the dark as much as possible and as long as possible,” they added.
Prosecutors and investigators were growing frustrated
A bulk of the files include correspondence between investigators or prosecutors related to Epstein’s 2008 nonprosecution agreement, his 2019 prosecution and the 2020 case against Maxwell.
But officials appeared routinely frustrated on how to move forward after Epstein’s death in 2019.
In an email thread from 2020, investigators with the U.S. Attorney’s office complained about the FBI’s handling of evidence. The names are redacted.
They were left “sifting through more than a million documents without much rhyme or reason,” one person wrote.
“Notwithstanding their many promises to us about quick and effective processing of the 60+ devices they seized, the FBI is completely f******* us on this,” another message reads.
An official with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan said they were not given guidance on how to proceed with the investigation.
“We still have not heard back from [REDACTED] or anyone one what we should be doing, if anything, to gather and review material” from the abandoned federal case against Epstein in Florida, the unnamed person wrote in a 2020 email.
“On the list of things keeping me up at 3am, this is pretty consistently at or near the top,” the person added.
open image in galleryJustice Department officials have defended the partial and ongoing release of the Epstein files despite federal law requiring all documents to be published by December 19 (Getty Images)The Justice Department failed to release all of the files related to Epstein’s cases in its possession despite federal law signed by Trump requiring the administration to publicly disclose everything it had by December 19.
An initial round of long-awaited documents included heavy redactions, including dozens of pages of grand jury testimony and previously sealed court filings that were nearly entirely blacked out.
The law requires the release of potentially thousands of documents that are typically shielded from public view, including grand jury testimony, settlements, investigative notes and internal records related to the Epstein and Maxwell cases.
open image in galleryAn email discussing a purported photo of Epstein and Trump on Steve Bannon's phone is shown in this image released by the Department of Justice (Department of Justice)After the initial release of documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act , the Justice Department removed more than 20 files — including an image of a credenza inside Epstein’s home, where a photograph of Trump with bikini-clad women was sitting in an open drawer.
Those images were later restored, but the Justice Department’s violation of the legal deadline and the apparent removal of images only fueled outrage and demand for the full release of the files.
open image in galleryAn image of a credenza inside Epstein’s home, where a photograph of Trump was sitting in an open drawer, was removed from the Justice Department’s database hours after an initial release. It was later restored (AP)Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer, said the Justice Department needed time to make necessary redactions to protect survivors.
“You’re talking about a million or so pages of documents — virtually all of them contain victim information,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday.
He said officials were not removing any mentions of Trump in the documents, more of which are expected to be rolled out over the coming weeks.
Members of Congress have suggested Attorney General Pam Bondi could be held in contempt for failing to release documents on deadline.