WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department on Friday began releasing a long-awaited cache of records from its investigations into the politically explosive case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein -- though much of the material remained heavily redacted. Among the trove are numerous photographs depicting former Democratic president Bill Clinton and other luminaries, including Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson, in Epstein&#39;s social circle. The sweeping blackouts across many of the documents -- combined with tight control over the release by officials in President Donald Trump&#39;s administration -- stoked skepticism over whether this disclosure will silence conspiracy theories of a high-level cover-up. In one example, seven pages listing 254 masseuses have every name buried beneath thick black bars alongside the note, &quot;redacted to protect potential victim information.&quot; Even so, the files shed some light on the disgraced financier&#39;s intimate ties to the rich, famous, and powerful -- Trump among them. At least one file contains dozens of censored images of naked or scantily clad figures. Others show Epstein and companions, their faces obscured, posing with firearms. Previously unseen photographs include one of a youthful-looking Clinton lounging in a hot tub, part of the image blacked out by a stark rectangle. In another, Clinton swims alongside a dark-haired woman who appears to be Epstein&#39;s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. And Maxwell is seen in a separate image with disgraced former prince Andrew, pictured lying across the legs of five people. - A &#39;fraction&#39; of the evidence -The White House wasted no time seizing on Clinton&#39;s appearances. &quot;Slick Willy! @BillClinton just chillin, without a care in the world. Little did he know...&quot; Communications Director Steven Cheung posted on X. But Democrats voiced frustration that the release fell far short of what was mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the new federal law requiring the government&#39;s entire case file be posted publicly by Friday, constrained only by legal and victim privacy concerns. &quot;This set of heavily redacted documents released by the Department of Justice today is just a fraction of the whole body of evidence,&quot; said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. &quot;Simply releasing a mountain of blacked-out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law. For example, all 119 pages of one document were completely blacked out.&quot; Other Democrats in Congress said the government had withheld a draft indictment prepared after the financier&#39;s 2019 arrest, which they say would implicate &quot;other rich and powerful men who were on Epstein&#39;s rape island.&quot; Trump, who once counted his Palm Beach, Florida neighbor as a close friend, spent months trying to block the disclosure of the files on Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. The Republican president ultimately bowed to mounting pressure from Congress -- including members of his own party -- and last month signed the law compelling publication of the materials by Friday. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said several hundred thousand documents would be published on deadline day, with many more to follow in the coming weeks. Prosecutors retain discretion to withhold material tied to active investigations, and Blanche said files had also been redacted to protect the identities of Epstein&#39;s hundreds of victims. - &#39;Democrat hoax&#39; -Trump once moved in the same Palm Beach and New York party scene as Epstein, appearing with him at events throughout the 1990s. He severed ties years before Epstein&#39;s 2019 arrest and faces no accusations of wrongdoing in the case. But his right-wing base has long fixated on the Epstein saga and conspiracy theories alleging the financier ran a sex trafficking ring for the global elite. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to release all the files. Yet after returning to office, he dismissed the transparency push as a &quot;Democrat hoax.&quot; Trump&#39;s Justice Department ignited a political firestorm in July with a memo declaring there would be no further disclosures from the Epstein probe and his fabled &quot;client list&quot; did not exist. Trump then waged a fight against Congress&#39;s drive to make the records public before relenting. Maxwell, Epstein&#39;s former girlfriend, remains the only person convicted in connection with his crimes and is serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting underage girls for the former teacher and banker, whose death was ruled a suicide.

Americas

The US Justice Department began releasing Jeffrey Epstein investigation files, featuring famous names and photographs, but heavy redactions sparked criticism and doubts over transparency, fueling political tensions and renewed conspiracy theories surrounding the case

Epstein files opened: famous faces, many blacked-out pages

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE: US President Donald Trump said Sunday he felt &quot;badly&quot; for the UK royal family after King Charles III revoked his brother Andrew&#39;s title of prince over his scandalous ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.&nbsp;&quot;I feel very badly. I mean, it&#39;s a terrible thing that&#39;s happened to the family,&quot; Trump said when asked by an AFP reporter aboard Air Force One about the recent saga.&nbsp;&quot;That&#39;s been a tragic situation, and it&#39;s too bad. I mean, I feel badly for the family.&quot;&nbsp;Trump, 79, has faced his own political woes in recent months over his own alleged relationship with Epstein, the New York financier and who died in prison in 2019.&nbsp;Trump&#39;s comments came&nbsp;as the British government said it would move to strip the former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, of his honorary title of vice-admiral, his last remaining military rank.&nbsp;The US president has frequently expressed admiration for Britain&#39;s royal family, most recently when Charles hosted him for a lavish state visit in September.&nbsp;Trump received a full state dinner at Windsor Castle, military parades and a flyover during the visit.&nbsp;But the so-called Epstein files have been the focal point of a controversy engulfing the second presidency of Trump, who was a longtime friend of Epstein.&nbsp;In July, the Trump administration announced that it had discovered no new evidence justifying the release of additional documents or the opening of a new investigation into the matter.&nbsp;Epstein died while awaiting trial for alleged sex trafficking of underage girls recruited to provide him with sexual massages.&nbsp;Conspiracy theoriesAuthorities ruled his death a suicide, but it has fueled countless conspiracy theories among Trump&#39;s voter base that he was murdered to prevent him from implicating high-profile figures.&nbsp;Republican Trump has repeatedly denied any involvement with the Epstein affair, dismissing it as a &quot;hoax&quot; by rival Democrats.&nbsp;Former prince Andrew&#39;s ties to Epstein have sparked growing anger in Britain.&nbsp;Charles on Thursday removed all his younger brother&#39;s remaining royal titles and honors and ousted him from his long-term residence on the Windsor estate.&nbsp;Defense minister John Healey told the BBC on Sunday that &quot;guided again by the king, we are working now to remove that last remaining title of vice-admiral that he has.&quot;&nbsp;Andrew was stripped of his other honorary military titles by his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, in 2022 after he was sued by Virginia Giuffre, Epstein&#39;s main accuser.&nbsp;The king&#39;s younger brother was once feted for his role as a Royal Navy helicopter pilot in the 1982 Falklands War. He retired in 2001 after 22 years of service.&nbsp;Andrew has always denied that he sexually abused Giuffre, who said in her posthumous memoir published in October that she was trafficked to have sex with him on three occasions, twice when she was just 17.

United Kingdom

Trump's comments come as the British government said it would move to strip the former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, of his honorary title of vice-admiral, his last remaining military rank.

Articles tagged with "Epstein file"

Epstein files opened: famous faces, many blacked-out pages

Trump says feels 'badly' for UK royal family over Andrew-Epstein saga

Epstein files opened: famous faces, many blacked-out pages