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What To Know On The Initial Release Of Materials From The Epstein File

Bonisiwe Shabane
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what to know on the initial release of materials from the epstein file

Updated on: December 20, 2025 / 10:47 PM EST / CBS News At least 15 newly-released files have disappeared from the Justice Department's website containing documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, including one file that shows a photo of President Trump, CBS News has determined. CBS News downloaded the complete set of documents on Friday and compared it to what was available Saturday. The Department of Justice has not responded to a request for comment about the discrepancy, and it's unclear why the files are missing a day after they were initially released. However, in a social media post to its X account Saturday night that seemed to touch on the issue, the DOJ wrote: "Photos and other materials will continue being reviewed and redacted consistent with... The “Epstein files” saga will spill into 2026, despite a deadline last week to release all of the records.

Congress passed a law last month — with near-unanimous support — requiring the Justice Department to release all of its files about Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender who was accused... Epstein died by suicide in 2019. The so-called “Epstein files” are made of over 300 gigabytes of data, papers, videos, photographs and audio files that live within the FBI’s main electronic case management system and largely originate from the FBI’s... The new transparency law gave the Justice Department a December 19 deadline to release all the records related to Epstein. The department has since published hundreds of thousands of files over the past week to a landing page on the DOJ website, dubbed the “Epstein Library.” The records included on the Justice Department website include court records, responses to public records requests, and documents previously released by the House Committee on Oversight and Government reform.

The Department of Justice began releasing its files on Friday on the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Many documents, which include interview transcripts and call logs, have been heavily redacted. The Justice Department has released files relating to the life, death and criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein - well, at least some of them. The law signed by President Trump last month had directed the DOJ to turn over the documents by Friday. NPR's Stephen Fowler has been reviewing the files and joins us. Stephen, thanks for being with us.

FOWLER: Well, on the surface, it sure looked like a lot. Justice.gov/epstein went live around 4 p.m. And there was a queue you had to wait in before accessing the page. The Epstein library contained well over 100,000 pages of court records, Freedom of Information Act files, memoranda from the Justice Department and videos from outside Epstein's federal prison cell, where he died by suicide... SIMON: Feels like there's more to the story. FOWLER: Well, yeah.

It's not all the files. And in the grand scheme of what was released, there aren't that many things that are actually new, Scott. Notably, there aren't many mentions of the president in this latest release. He was a longtime friend of Epstein before they had a falling out and has appeared in previously released files. Eighty percent of it comes from public court records from more than 50 cases against Epstein, his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and others. There's about 4,000 files, 8,500 pages, that fall under this new Transparency Act.

Most of those are photos of Epstein's estate and his travels with people like former President Bill Clinton, among others. And there's this previously undisclosed FBI report from 1996 - 30 years ago - that accused Epstein of child pornography crimes and allegedly threatened to burn the accuser's house down if she told anyone... Even then, there are hundreds of pages, just straight-up redacted black boxes all over things like grand jury information that do leave a lot of questions. 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...

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. 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. 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. The Justice Department has started releasing its files on Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender known for his connections to powerful figures, including Donald Trump The Justice Department has released thousands of files about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but the incomplete document dump Friday did not break significant ground about the long-running criminal investigations of the financier or...

Pages that show New York grand jury subpoenas being issued into the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell investigation, then pages of redactions that follow, in this document released by the U.S. Justice Department, are photographed, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick) This undated, redacted photo released by the U.S. Department of Justice shows Michael Jackson, former President Bill Clinton and Diana Ross with an unknown person.

(U.S. Department of Justice via AP) This redacted photo released by the U.S. Department of Justice shows Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor laying across several people’s laps with Ghislaine Maxwell standing above. (U.S. Department of Justice via AP)

The United States Department of Justice on Friday published the first of an unknown number of releases of documents related to infamous sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The nearly 4,000 files contain a hodgepodge of photos, handwritten notes, and more. What they do not contain are any clear revelations about who else may be criminally implicated in Epstein’s abuse network. Released in four volumes, the 3,951 documents the DOJ included in Friday’s release represent only a fraction of the files the department is required to release under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Democratic lawmakers scolded the DOJ for withholding large portions of its archive, accusing the department of failing to comply with the law’s disclosure mandate. The documents the Justice Department did release contain hundreds of images of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his onetime girlfriend and convicted accomplice in a yearslong sex trafficking operation, along with other associates, celebrities, and...

Despite long-standing scrutiny of Donald Trump’s social ties to Epstein, the president appears only sporadically in the initial release of material—for instance, in a framed photo on top of a dresser showing him and... It is currently unclear when the DOJ will release additional documents or what will be included in any subsequent releases. CNN has reported on frustrations within the DOJ over the allegedly vague guidance lawyers responsible for redacting the material were given, while Fox News has reported that the same standards used to protect victims... The first batch of documents the DOJ released contains 3,158 images of the inside of Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse and Virgin Islands compound. These include several photographs of a painting of Bill Clinton wearing a blue dress and red high heels mounted next to a framed, handwritten letter, the author of which can’t be made out. There are also dozens of photos of Epstein with women and, in at least two cases, what appear to be babies; their faces are redacted.

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Updated On: December 20, 2025 / 10:47 PM EST /

Updated on: December 20, 2025 / 10:47 PM EST / CBS News At least 15 newly-released files have disappeared from the Justice Department's website containing documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, including one file that shows a photo of President Trump, CBS News has determined. CBS News downloaded the complete set of documents on Friday and compared it to what was available Saturday. The Department o...

Congress Passed A Law Last Month — With Near-unanimous Support

Congress passed a law last month — with near-unanimous support — requiring the Justice Department to release all of its files about Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender who was accused... Epstein died by suicide in 2019. The so-called “Epstein files” are made of over 300 gigabytes of data, papers, videos, photographs and audio files that live within the FBI’s main el...

The Department Of Justice Began Releasing Its Files On Friday

The Department of Justice began releasing its files on Friday on the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Many documents, which include interview transcripts and call logs, have been heavily redacted. The Justice Department has released files relating to the life, death and criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein - well, at least some of them. The law signed by President Trump last month had direct...

FOWLER: Well, On The Surface, It Sure Looked Like A

FOWLER: Well, on the surface, it sure looked like a lot. Justice.gov/epstein went live around 4 p.m. And there was a queue you had to wait in before accessing the page. The Epstein library contained well over 100,000 pages of court records, Freedom of Information Act files, memoranda from the Justice Department and videos from outside Epstein's federal prison cell, where he died by suicide... SIMO...

It's Not All The Files. And In The Grand Scheme

It's not all the files. And in the grand scheme of what was released, there aren't that many things that are actually new, Scott. Notably, there aren't many mentions of the president in this latest release. He was a longtime friend of Epstein before they had a falling out and has appeared in previously released files. Eighty percent of it comes from public court records from more than 50 cases aga...