A week ago, the US Department of Justice released new material on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. What’s new in it?
It’s about 3 million pages of text, thousands of videos and tens of thousands of photos. In addition to further details about Epstein’s already known contacts, the files reveal more Adversities in Epstein’s communications. However, no concrete evidence of further crimes has been found so far. This time there was far less redaction than in the last publications in December 2025. The mass redaction caused criticism at the time. Now the Ministry of Justice was so lax with the data of those affected that even telephone numbers were publicly visible – and at least 40 unredacted nude photos. The ministry has since deleted a number of files.
What new information is there about the involvement of those in power?
Despite the lack of solid evidence, recent publications contain some details about possible offenses. What is striking, however, is that with over 1,000 mentions there is hardly anything reliable US President Donald Trump is there. A photo showing Trump posing with several young women was briefly deleted by the Justice Department, supposedly to protect those affected – and then put back online. The documents published in December, however, contained a woman’s accusation that Trump had raped her with Epstein. These had no consequences.
In contrast, the files show that billionaire Elon Musk had closer contacts with Epstein than previously known. Musk called the sex criminal a “disgust” in 2019 and claimed that he had repeatedly turned down invitations to travel to his notorious island. New emails, however, show that around 2012, Musk was eager to attend the “wildest party” on Epstein’s infamous private island.
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The documents also paint a different picture with regard to Trump’s Trade Secretary Howard Lutnick, who last year confirmed that he had broken off contact with Epstein in 2005. Accordingly, Lutnick arranged a visit to Epstein’s island in 2012.
Ex-Prinz Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is said to have invited the investor to dinner at Buckingham Palace in 2010 – after Epstein’s first conviction. Former British minister and ambassador Peter Mandelson has resigned from his seat in the House of Lords following revelations of his Epstein ties.
What role does Russia play?
“Epstein was Putin’s money manager,” an anonymous FBI source claims in the new publications. The Kremlin apparently took this so seriously that it at least deigned to deny a meeting between Epstein and the Russian president.
Various sources see Epstein as a Russian agent. Accordingly, the human trafficking system could have been a trap to make politicians or other powerful people vulnerable to blackmail. Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk does not find this suspicion unreasonable: “More and more evidence, more and more information and more and more reports in the international press indicate that this unprecedented pedophilia scandal was co-organized by Russian secret services.” Tusk announced that he would have the connections investigated.
The fact is: Epstein traveled to Russia several times and brought Russian women to the USA and France. The now released documents include emails in which Epstein asks to book plane tickets for women from Russia, others in which he claims to know “a friend of Putin’s” who could help with visa problems, and others in which he threatens to contact “friends at the FSB” to solve a blackmail case by a “Russian woman.” In the latter matter, Epstein actually turned to FSB man Sergei Belyakov. The extent to which he was active is not known.
What connections did Epstein have to Israel?
Some – to Israeli officials and, in particular, to Israel’s former prime minister Ehud Barak. Barak visited Epstein several dozen times and also traveled in his private jet. Barak claims he did not attend any sex parties. What is certain is that he and Epstein also maintained close economic and political contacts since their first meeting in 2003. In an audio recording from 2013 recently published by the US Department of Justice, you can listen to a conversation between Epstein and Barak. In it, Epstein Barak recommends taking a look at Palantir – the company owned by US billionaire Peter Thiel, which is used by states around the world to analyze data. Epstein later invested in Barak’s company Reporty Homeland Security, now Carbyne, which develops emergency communications technology and includes former senior Israeli military officials.
As the files and emails show, also spent Yoni Korenan Israeli reserve lieutenant colonel with intelligence connections stayed in Epstein’s Manhattan apartment for several weeks at a time. Epstein used his connections in these high circles. So he supported the in 2013 Selling Israeli surveillance technology to Mongolia and established unofficial channels between Israel and the Kremlin at the time of the Syrian civil war.
Why didn’t the Epstein files lead to more charges?
So far, only Epstein and his partner Ghislaine Maxwell have been charged for their crimes. But the documents contain many allegations against a number of powerful people. The problem is that these statements do not constitute sufficient evidence and are mostly anonymous. However, if US prosecutors want to take action against other suspects, they need access to those affected who are willing to testify in court using their real names. However, many are afraid; some are no longer alive or may have already settled out of court. The fact that some of the crimes took place decades ago also makes it difficult to provide evidence in court.
How is this discussed in the USA? Were Qanon and other conspirators right?
The publications are being hotly debated in the USA, among other things, because of Donald Trump’s role in the files and his handling of the files. Former Republican congresswoman and ex-Trump confidant Marjorie Taylor Greene turned her back on the US president because of his reluctance to come to terms with the issue. Meanwhile, other Republicans are primarily insisting on a public hearing for Democratic former President Bill Clinton, who also appears prominently in the files. Clinton has since stated that she wants to testify.
Meanwhile, speculation is raging online. A number of real and supposed excerpts from the files are circulating on social media, including a number of AI-generated “evidence photos”. The most outrageous rumors concern allegations that Epstein and his influential friends engaged in cannibalism – against children. Conspiracy stories about elite satanic pedophile rings that secretly control the world and eat babies have been circulating in Qanon movement circles since 2017. Some of their supporters also believe that Epstein was part of such a network and was in league with the Democrats.
The absurd thing about it: Donald Trump had also been fueling such myths for a long time, claiming the existence of secret client lists in the Epstein files and promising complete clarification. After he was re-elected, he quickly backtracked. A circumstance that could weaken his support from the MAGA movement.
In fact, the latest publications include, among other things, bizarre statements from an alleged FBI interview with an alleged victim about “dismembered babies” and “ritual sacrifices” on Epstein’s yacht in 2000. However, as far as is currently known, these do not seem to coincide with other evidence.
What don’t we know yet?
Even if the Epstein files have not yet led to any further proceedings, they do reveal the depravity of a significant proportion of the rich and powerful. It is also repeatedly suspected that political influence could prevent further clarification, although there is currently no solid evidence in this regard.
Specifically, US politicians accuse the Department of Justice of failing to comply with the transparency required by law by redacting and withholding documents. According to Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, the department has only published 3.5 million of 6 million relevant pages. “Not releasing these files only protects the powerful people who were involved and damages public trust in our institutions,” Khanna said.