Epstein files

The Epstein files are a partially released collection of millions of documents, images, videos, and emails detailing the activities of American financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including his social circle of public figures, politicians, and celebrities. The files include documents collected as evidence in the criminal cases against Epstein and his associates, stored as over 300 gigabytes of data, alongside other media, in the FBI's Sentinel case management system. They include Epstein's contacts book, flight logs of his planes, and court documents. Many of the records and files belong to Epstein's estate, which is run by lawyer Darren Indyke and accountant Richard Kahn.

In November 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and the U.S. Senate unanimously approved it, with President Donald Trump signing the bill into law the next day. The following month, the U.S. Department of Justice released a relatively small amount of files, leading to criticism from both major parties of the US. Trump had previously floated the idea of releasing the files during his 2024 presidential campaign; he later said that controversies surrounding the files were fabricated by members of the Democratic Party.

On January 30, 2026, an additional 3 million pages were released, including 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. While the Department of Justice acknowledged that a total of 6 million pages might qualify as files required to be released, it stated that the January 30 release would be the final one, and that it had met its legal obligations. The released files mentioned a number of public figures, and led to increased scrutiny of their activities.

Since the release of the files, three people have had criminal investigations launched into them due to their ties to Epstein, with one resulting in criminal charges and the others resulting in arrests thus far: former Norwegian prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland, who has been charged with aggravated corruption; Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was arrested on February 19, 2026; and British politician Peter Mandelson, who was arrested on February 23, 2026.

As of February 2026, individuals whose names show up frequently in the files include: Epstein's assistant Lesley Groff (157,613 mentions), accountant Richard Kahn (52,781 mentions), US president Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump (more than 38,000 references), lawyer Darren Indyke (17,783 mentions), sex trafficker and socialite Ghislaine Maxwell (13,169 mentions), and modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel (4,727 mentions).

As of February 19, 2026, Jmail, a browser-based archive dedicated to the Epstein files, has archived a total of 1,412,250 files, 2,474,242 pages, and 1,038,603 emails; with 1,401,320 documents as released by the DOJ, and 8,624 documents from the House Oversight Committee.

Background

In 1996, Maria Farmer reported to the FBI that Epstein had "stolen" naked photos she had of her underage siblings, but says that she did not hear back. Florida Palm Beach Police Department began investigating Epstein after a woman reported that her 14-year-old stepdaughter had been taken to Epstein's home and paid to strip and massage Epstein. Following an investigation, the FBI identified at least 35 girls with a similar history, between 2002 and 2005. Epstein was indicted and pleaded guilty to soliciting a 17 year old minor for prostitution in 2008. He was registered as a sex offender and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

In 2018, an article in the Miami Herald critiqued his plea deal and sentence as lenient, and interviewed victims who shared their experiences with Epstein between 2002 and 2005. Virginia Giuffre alleged that Epstein had been operating a trafficking ring that "lent out" girls to other powerful men.

The media coverage prompted New York federal prosecutors to reexamine the case and investigate potential additional Epstein offences between 2002 and 2005. Investigators corroborated victims stories of abuse. According to declassified 2019 FBI investigation findings released in 2026, other victims did not corroborate Giuffre's specific allegation that Epstein had operated a trafficking "ring" that "lent out" girls to other powerful men. Evidence seized from Epstein's homes also only implicated Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Epstein was arrested in July 2019, on charges of sex trafficking minors between 2002 and 2005 in New York and Florida. He died of suicide in prison while awaiting trial.

Epstein cultivated a social circle of public figures that included politicians and celebrities. This has fuelled conspiracy theories that Epstein kept a "client list" to whom he allegedly trafficked young girls, that he used this to blackmail clients, and that these clients later killed him. These theories have been disseminated widely after his 2019 death, including by Donald Trump. FBI investigators did not find evidence for the specific allegation of a "ring" in which Epstein "lent out" girls, nor evidence of a "client list".

Contents

2007 draft indictment

The FBI began investigating Epstein in 2006, following reports that he had been paying underage girls for sex in his Florida mansion. In 2007, federal prosecutors prepared a draft indictment consisting of 32 counts against Epstein and two of his employees for enticement of minors and sex trafficking. Ultimately, U.S. attorney Alexander Acosta signed off on a deal that allowed Epstein to avoid federal prosecution; Epstein instead pleaded guilty to a state charge of soliciting prostitution from someone under age 18 and received an 18-month jail sentence. No charges were presented against his employees. The draft indictment described Epstein as "an extremely high flight risk and, from information we have received, a continued danger to the community based upon his continued enticement of underage girls." It described many crimes that were ultimately not prosecuted in favor of Epstein's plea deal.

2019 documents about investigation of alleged co-conspirators

Emails from 2019 show that shortly after Epstein's 2019 arrest, FBI agents discussed contacting Ghislaine Maxwell and 9 other alleged co-conspirators, including Lesley Groff, Darren Indyke, Richard Kahn (accountant), Jean-Luc Brunel, and Les Wexner, in order to serve them with grand jury summonses. The emails do not name some of the alleged co-conspirators, but note the city or state each is in. An FBI agent noted in the email that "3 have been located in FL and served [grand jury] subpoenas; 1 in Boston, 1 in NYC, and 1 in CT were located and served."

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York produced an 86-page memo called "Investigation into Potential Co-Conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein" that was sent to US Attorney Geoffrey Berman on December 19, 2019. The memo contains statements of 24 women who reported being abused by Epstein as minors and 14 who reported being abused by Epstein as adults. One of the women told prosecutors that Epstein had told her to give massages to two men in 2011 or 2012, and that one of the men tried to sexually assault her and the other man "forced her to touch his genitals and then raped [her]." The FBI has not commented on whether or not the men were investigated.

Investigation documents

The files also contained FBI interview notes with an employee at Epstein's Florida estate who described duties such as fanning $100 bills on a table near Epstein's bed, disposing of used condoms, and placing a gun between Epstein's mattresses. The employee also told the FBI in 2007 that Epstein once had him buy flowers and deliver them to a student at Royal Palm Beach High School to commemorate her performance in a school play.

One document detailed a diagram of Epstein's inner circle, including Maxwell, his lawyer Darren Indyke, and his accountant Richard Kahn. The undated diagram also showed Jean-Luc Brunel, a French model agent with longtime ties to Epstein who faced rape charges in France before dying by suicide in a French jail in 2022. The document listed other close associates including Epstein's personal chef, pilots, and Peter Listerman, a model scout described in the file as a "subject/witness" and model "matchmaker". It also listed Les Wexner, the billionaire business magnate who employed Epstein as a money manager and has said he severed ties with Epstein in 2007.

While the diagram indicated that the DOJ had been investigating people close to Epstein for potential involvement, other individuals identified were known Epstein employees, none of whom were charged. The Justice Department redacted the names and photographs of five other individuals on the diagram, including Maxwell's assistant and four Epstein employees, one of whom was listed as a "girlfriend/employee". Victims and advocates criticized the Justice Department for what they characterized as heavy but inconsistent redactions of names and details throughout the released documents.

Social connections and meetings

The release detailed Epstein's associations with numerous prominent individuals. The documents further illustrated how Epstein's relationships with powerful figures persisted even after he became a convicted sex offender in 2008, contradicting or undermining years of public denials from some associates.