US justice department unveils 3.5 million pages of Epstein records

Survivors slam the new Epstein file release, claiming their details are exposed while powerful men remain hidden

US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Friday that the department was releasing more than 3 million pages of documents, more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. The files, posted to a Department of Justice (DOJ) website, include some of the several million pages of records that officials said were withheld from an initial release of documents in December.

Documents concerned some of Epstein's famous associates, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Britain’s Prince Andrew, and email correspondence between Epstein and Elon Musk and other prominent contacts from across the political spectrum.

The release came six weeks after the department missed a deadline signed into law by US President Donald Trump that mandated all Epstein-related documents be shared with the public.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the White House played no role in the review of the extensive files related to the convicted sex offender, a former friend of Trump.

"Today's release marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people and compliance with the act," Blanche said at a news conference announcing the disclosure.

🚨 Department of Justice Publishes 3.5 Million Responsive Pages in Compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act

🔗https://t.co/eGeSO5qkVY pic.twitter.com/SRhcdg70N0

— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) January 30, 2026

Blanche is referring to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which obliges the government to make all documents related to the prosecution public.

"They did not tell this department how to do our review, what to look for, what to redact, what not to redact," Blanche said.

The Justice Department said some of the documents being released contained "untrue and sensationalist claims" about the 79-year-old Trump submitted to the FBI before the 2020 presidential election.

Friday's disclosure represents the largest document dump to date about a saga the Trump administration has struggled to shake because of the president's previous association with Epstein. Criminal investigations into the financier have long animated online sleuths, conspiracy theorists and others who have suspected government cover-ups and clamoured for a full accounting, demands that Blanche acknowledged might not be satisfied by the latest release.

"We did not protect President Trump," he said. "We didn't protect or not protect anybody."

The records have thousands of references to Trump, including emails in which Epstein and others shared news articles about him, commented on his policies or politics, or gossiped about him and his family.

Also included was a spreadsheet created last August summarising calls to the FBI’s National Threat Operation Centre or to a hotline established by prosecutors from people claiming without corroboration to have some knowledge of wrongdoing by Trump.

Mountbatten-Windsor's name appears at least several hundred times in the documents, sometimes in news clippings, sometimes in Epstein’s private email correspondence and in guest lists for dinners organised by Epstein. Some records document an attempt by prosecutors in New York to get the former prince to agree to be interviewed as part of their Epstein sex trafficking probe.

The records also show Musk, the billionaire Tesla founder, reached out to Epstein on at least two occasions to plan visits to the Caribbean island where many of the alleged sexual abuses purportedly occurred.

All images of girls and women were being redacted, aside from those of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of trafficking underage girls for Epstein and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

However, a statement by survivors of Epstein's alleged abuse claimed identifying information about them still remained in the files, "while the men who abused us remain hidden and protected."

The letter, signed by 19 individuals, some using aliases or initials, demanded "the full release of the Epstein files" and that Attorney General Pam Bondi directly address the matter when she testifies before Congress next month.

Epstein's former girlfriend remains the only person convicted in connection with his crimes. Epstein killed himself in a New York jail cell in August 2019, a month after being indicted on federal sex trafficking charges.

In 2008 and 2009, Epstein served jail time in Florida after pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18. At the time, investigators had gathered evidence that Epstein had sexually abused underage girls at his Palm Beach home. The US attorney's office agreed not to prosecute him in exchange for his guilty plea to lesser state charges.

A draft indictment from that period released Friday shows prosecutors contemplated federal charges against not just Epstein but three others who were his personal assistants and were suspected of participating in a conspiracy to abuse underage girls to perform lewd acts with Epstein.