What's in the Epstein files? A reader's guide to the documents
- - What's in the Epstein files? A reader's guide to the documents
Bart Jansen, USA TODAY December 24, 2025 at 7:14 PM
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WASHINGTON – The Justice Department has released hundreds of thousands of documents dealing with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, often with what women who accused him of abuse call “abnormal” redactions.
But the department said Dec. 24 the FBI "uncovered over a million more documents potentially related to the Jeffrey Epstein case” and said the process of reviewing them for release will take "a few more weeks." The department had already missed a Dec. 19 deadline Congress set for the release of all the records.
Add it all up and it's so far been a dizzying whirlwind of information. Documents can sometimes offer false or unfiltered accusations. The department has warned the records contained “untrue and sensationalist” accusations against President Donald Trump from just before the 2020 election. The FBI labeled a purported note from Epstein to disgraced former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar a “fake" despite releasing it to the public.
More: Epstein files: Expectations vs. reality on what's going to be released
1 / 9What do the Epstein files show? See photos released by DOJ(L-R) Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton and Diana Ross in a photo that was part of thousands of files related to Jefferey Epstein released by the Department of Justice on Dec. 19, 2025. The images were released by the US DOJ without location information, dates or context.
Key documents also remain under wraps. Lawmakers have called for the release of a 60-count indictment drafted against Epstein during a 2008 investigation that never led to federal charges and the 82-page prosecution memo about legal arguments in the case.
More: How latest release of Epstein files compares to previous disclosures
Even what is available in the documents often lacks context. Pictures don’t name who is portrayed, or when or where the shots were taken. Epstein hosted celebrities and business leaders at his properties, including a private Caribbean island but nobody other than his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, have been charged with abuse.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Donald Trump are shown in this image released by the Department of Justice on Dec. 23, 2025, as part of a new trove of documents from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
More: First it was Clinton, now it's Trump's time in Epstein files spotlight
As documents trickle out, they have taken on political implications. Democrats urging the release of all the materials immediately have focused on pictures and emails that mention Trump, the Republican two-term president and a former friend of Epstein’s before a falling out.
The latest release from the Trump administration Dec. 22 had numerous pictures of former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat who called for all documents to be released rather than trickled out.
Here's a guide on how to read and understand the documents as they are released:
Why weren't all the Epstein documents released on Dec. 19?
Jeffrey Epstein is seen in this image released by the Department of Justice on Dec. 19, 2025 as part of thousands of files related to Jefferey Epstein. The images were released by the US DOJ without location information, dates or context.
Congress approved and Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, calling for the release of all of the department’s documents by Dec. 19. The law directed DOJ to explain which documents were withheld and why within 15 days, setting up a Jan. 3, 2026, deadline.
The law states that records cannot be withheld, delayed or redacted "on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”
But the law also permits the department to withhold documents that identify the victims of sexual abuse, portray sexual abuse or could hurt criminal prosecutions.
More: Why all the Epstein files may not come out even though Congress took action
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche notified Congress on Dec. 19 that the reason the department was missing the deadline with a partial release was because of the need to review the voluminous documents. Blanche also said the department would withhold records that detail how lawyers deliberated about their decisions, the work lawyers produced within the department and communications between lawyers and their clients.
“These privileges are based in common law – not statutes – and Congress is fully aware of them,” Blanche wrote. “Although the Act broadly categorizes items required to be produced, the Act does not include language expressly requiring the Department to produce privileged materials.”
Lawmakers have still grumbled about the extent of redactions.
“Let me be very clear: We need a full release,” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, a key co-sponsor of the Epstein law, said in a video posted on X. “Anyone who tampers with these documents or conceals documents, or engages in excessive redaction, will be prosecuted because of obstruction of justice."
Why is the DOJ's review of Epstein documents taking so long?
President Donald Trump, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Attorney General Pam Bondi listen while Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a press conference in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 15, 2025.
The department has said it is trying to protect people who accused Epstein of abuse by not releasing information that names or otherwise identifies them.
More than 150 lawyers and other staffers are reviewing the documents for redactions. Authorities have held more than 30 meetings and calls with lawyers for people alleging they were abused. The department is also inviting people to step forward if they fear their names might be released.
More: Jeffrey Epstein victimized 1,000 women and children. His survivors have a message.
The department warned a judge in one of the Epstein cases that the volume of documents means the review could lead to mistakes. Readers could “piece together information that in isolation does not identify a victim but can be pieced together to identify a victm.”
“Posting information on a publicly available website also poses risks of intrusion and technical errors,” the department said.
Who are Epstein's 10 alleged co-conspirators?
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 11, 2025.
The main reason lawmakers and people who accused Epstein of abuse sought the release of documents was to find out more about who might have helped his alleged sex trafficking or cover it up. But the releases so far have been sparse on names.
Federal agents exchanged emails days after Epstein’s arrest in July 2019 about locating “10 co-conspirators” and serving them with subpoenas.
On July 9, an unnamed staffer mentioned three in Florida, one in Boston, one in New York city and one in Connecticut. The identities of these co-conspirators is largely unknown. Another summary referred to 10 subpoenas and noted two of the individuals are pilots.
More: Jeffrey Epstein survivor 'redeemed' by release of her 1996 FBI complaint
In September, senators asked FBI Director Kash Patel whether anyone in the Epstein case files was part of a broader trafficking ring. Patel told Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, that no other cases could be made and that Epstein worked alone.
"There is no credible information. None. If there were, I would bring the case yesterday, that he trafficked to other individuals,” Patel said.
More: Maps show luxury locales where Epstein has been accused of sex abuse
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, asked Dec. 22 on social media what authorities were hiding.
“Who are these 10 co-conspirators? Why haven’t we seen those memos? Where are the grand jury records? Where are the FBI records? What are they hiding?” Schumer asked.
Some documents in Epstein files 'untrue and sensationalist': DOJ
This photo illustration taken in Washington, DC, on December 23, 2025 shows a new batch of files released on Tuesday by the US government in relation to the notorious late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. A first batch was made public December 19, 2025 amid fierce criticism that the US Justice Department was deliberately slow-walking the release and excluding any references to US President Donald Trump. The latest slew of documents contains 8,000 files, including hundreds of videos or audio recordings. This includes surveillance footage from August 2019, the month Epstein was found dead in his jail cell -- and declared to have committed suicide.
The documents contain information and accusations that are often unconfirmed and sometimes false.
The Justice Department issued a statement Dec. 22 saying the files contained “untrue and sensationalist” accusations against Trump before the 2020 election.
Documents from the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center in October 2020 contained unsubstantiated third-person accusations that Trump raped a woman and hosted a party for prostitutes.
But Trump has not been charged with any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. Witnesses have testified under oath than Trump didn’t behave inappropriately around Epstein.
More: How Epstein has dogged Trump's second term unlike anything else
“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 Justice Department said in its statement, without specifying which claims it was referring to.
One of the documents purported to a note Epstein wrote to Nassar saying they shared "love & caring for young ladies" and mentioned "Our president."
More: How Epstein-Trump relations evolved, ended and lingered for 30 years
But the FBI found the handwriting didn't match Epstein's, the letter was postmarked three days after his death from Virginia while he was jailed in New York and the return address didn't include his inmate number as required for outgoing mail.
"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 department said Dec. 23 on social media.
The department responded on social media Dec. 24 to someone questioning why the release included fake records by calling the person a "dope."
Did DOJ's release of Epstein documents follow the law?
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, center, speaks to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, as Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, looks on as House members hold a press conference along with victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 3, 2025.
The two House members who drafted the legislation forcing to force the release of documents − Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky − threatened to seek a congressional finding of contempt for the partial release of documents.
"DOJ did break the law by making illegal redactions and by missing the deadline," Massie said Dec. 24 on social media.
A bipartisan group of senators asked the Justice Department’s acting inspector general, Don Berhtiaume, on Dec. 24 to audit the release of documents to determine whether it fulfilled the disclosure law.
“Given the Administration’s historic hostility to releasing the files, politicization of the Epstein case more broadly, and failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a neutral assessment of its compliance with the statutory disclosure requirements is essential,” the senators wrote.
The letter was signed by 11 Democrats led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and included one Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
The lawmakers argued that transparency was needed to identify anyone “who enabled and participated in Epstein’s crimes.”
“Survivors deserve full disclosure,” the senators wrote. “They also deserve the peace of mind that would be afforded by an independent audit of the Department’s compliance.”
Members of both parties wield Epstein docs as political weapon
Former President Bill Clinton appears in this image released by the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 19, 2025 as part of a new trove of documents from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Members of both political parties have been wielding Epstein documents as a political weapon to hurt the other side.
House Democrats pressured the administration to make the files public by releasing emails from Epstein’s estate that said Trump "knew about the girls" and pictures including an image portraying a box of Trump condoms.
“Donald Trump thinks our investigation is a hoax and should be over,” Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Dec. 23 on social media. “Mr. President, we are just getting started.”
More: Epstein files takeaways: Vaginal cream, celebs and redacted photos
Gates McGavick, a Justice Department spokesperson, highlighted a picture of Clinton − the nation's 42nd president from 1993 to 2001 − in a hot tub next to a person whose face was redacted.
“Beloved Democrat President,” McGavick said on social media on Dec. 19. “The black box is added to protect a victim.”
Trump, Clinton have each been stung by Epstein documents
President Donald Trump attends a press conference, as he makes an announcement about the Navy's "Golden Fleet" at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 22, 2025.
A Clinton spokesperson called Dec. 22 for the immediate release of all Epstein documents to avoid insinuating wrongdoing against people "who have been repeatedly cleared."
The plea from Angel Urena, Clinton's post-presidential deputy chief of staff, came after the Dec. 19 release of pictures, including the hot tub picture and others with celebrities.
More: Bill Clinton among VIPs in new Epstein file photographs
Trump has strongly denied wrongdoing with Epstein and accused Democrats of a hoax for cherry-picking documents to distract from his administration's accomplishments. He said he had no quarrel with Clinton but that Democrats and some misguided Republicans forced the release of the Epstein files.
“There are lot of people that are angry about all of the pictures of other people,” Trump told reporters Dec. 22. “I think it's terrible.”
Celebs appear in pictures with Epstein but aren't accused of wrongdoing
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Mick Jagger and Ghislaine Maxwell are seen in this image released by the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., U.S., on December 19, 2025 as part of a new trove of documents from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Images were released by the US DOJ without location information, dates or context.
The documents have included numerous pictures of Epstein with celebrities, politicians and business leaders. But no one other than Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence, has been charged with sex trafficking like Epstein or conspiring with him.
Some of the bold-faced names were penalized for socializing with Epstein. Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, brother of the United Kingdom's King Charles III, lost his title as prince after one of the women who accused Epstein of abuse, the late Virginia Giuffre, also accused the royal of abuse. But he has denied wrongdoing despite settling her civil lawsuit against him.
More: Who is in the Epstein files? A look at the latest names
Former Clinton-era Treasury Secretary Larry Summers quit several posts after emails revealed him appearing to seek advice from Epstein about a romantic relationship
But others appeared to merely socialize with Epstein. Musical icons Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson and Diana Ross make cameo appearances among the pictures. Political leaders such as Trump and Clinton turn up at Epstein's gatherings.
“Everybody was friendly with this guy, either friendly or not friendly, but they, you know, he was around, he was all over Palm Beach and other places,” Trump told reporters Dec. 22.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What's in the Epstein files? A reader's guide to the latest documents
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