What’s inside the Epstein files released by the Justice Department

<i>Heather Diehl/Getty Images via CNN Newsource</i><br/>Epstein abuse survivor Annie Farmer holds up a photo of her younger self with her sister Maria Farmer during a news conference with lawmakers on the Epstein Files Transparency Act outside the U.S. Capitol on November 18

By CNN Newsource

Published December 20, 2025 8:43 am

By CNN staff, CNN

(CNN) — The Justice Department released thousands of files related to sex offender and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein after Congress passed a law forcing the Trump administration to do so.

Friday’s release didn’t contain all the files as the DOJ said it will continue releasing more in the coming weeks.

CNN reporters went through the thousands of files, and you can read highlights below:

Editor’s Note: This story contains graphic and disturbing descriptions of sexual violence.

New batch of photos shows FBI’s evidence against Epstein

From CNN’s Marshall Cohen

The Justice Department released a batch of photos — in addition to Friday’s earlier disclosures — showing some of the evidence gathered in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

The new files were posted to the Justice Department website after 7 p.m. ET, approximately four hours after the initial massive tranche of materials was released earlier in the day. They contain about 120 photos, mostly depicting FBI evidence boxes and envelopes.

The materials include dozens of hard drives, old CDs and computers. One image appears to show a dog stuffed inside a box. It’s been previously reported that Epstein kept a taxidermied poodle.

It’s unclear where these pictures came from, but the Justice Department previously said some of the materials in Friday’s release would include information from Epstein-related search warrants. The FBI raided Epstein’s homes in Florida and New York, and his private island in the US Virgin Islands.

Bill Clinton was in hot tub with one of Epstein’s victims, DOJ official says

From CNN’s Marshall Cohen

A Justice Department spokesperson said Friday that the redacted person in one of the new widely circulated photos of former President Bill Clinton in a hot tub is “a victim” of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse.

The spokesperson, Gates McGavick, posted the image to X and wrote, “Beloved Democrat President. The black box is added to protect a victim.”

The Epstein Files Transparency Act required the Justice Department to redact things that could potentially identify victims who were sexually abused. However, it’s not clear that every redaction in every photo was made to protect a confirmed victim. For instance, an older man’s face was redacted in some images.

Clinton has never been charged with any crimes or accused by law enforcement of any wrongdoing related to Epstein. A spokesperson for Clinton said in a statement Friday that the Trump administration was “shielding themselves from what comes next.”

The statement added that the former president did not know about Epstein’s crimes and had cut off the relationship before those crimes came to light.

“There are two types of people here,” the spokesperson, Angel Ureña, said. “The first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light. The second group continued relationships with him after. We’re in the first.”

In a letter sent to Congress Friday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the Justice Department’s extensive review of Epstein-related materials “did not … uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” which would include Clinton.

Before joining the Trump administration this year, McGavick worked for the Republican National Committee and several Republican lawmakers.

The Justice Department declined to comment when CNN asked about McGavick’s post.

DOJ released grand jury material with black pages of redactions

From CNN’s Holmes Lybrand

Prior to Friday’s release, the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury material in cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were approved by the federal judges, clearing the way for the DOJ to publish the much-sought-after documents.

In the records published Friday night, however, 119 pages labeled as grand jury materials are completely redacted.

The grand jury material is interspliced between other largely redacted pages, as well as one explicit image of a woman.

The Justice Department does not categorize much of the released material, and it is unclear which documents may have been part of the grand jury material they were authorized to release.

CNN reached out to the Justice Department for comment.

Witness told investigators Epstein sought underage victims and didn’t want ‘Spanish or dark’ girls

From CNN’s Aleena Fayaz and Marshall Cohen

Two months before Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 federal sex-trafficking indictment, a witness told investigators that he asked to see a girl’s identification to make sure she was underage, according to newly released files.

The revelation was included in a 52-page document from May 2019 containing an investigator’s handwritten notes of an interview with the witness, whose name is redacted. The document also contains photographs of various women, some wearing swimsuits or other revealing outfits, who the witness told investigators spent time with Epstein and were possibly abused.

The notes indicate that the witness mentioned a “desperate time running out of girls.” The witness further told investigators that Epstein was frustrated by the older ages of some of the girls who were brought around — and insisted that he be brought “young” girls.

“At one point, [redacted] witnessed him asking for ID to girl, wanted make sure under 18 b/c he wasn’t believing them b/c [redacted] messed up by bringing more older girls,” the interview notes said.

The notes indicate that “JE” paid someone and “told her (to) keep looking for girls,” describing his preference for certain women.

The witness described the girls’ races, nationalities and complexions, adding that “JE didn’t want Spanish or dark girl[s],” and requested young girls “but not dark” girls.

In the interview, the witness described potential sexual abuse, including “a lot of touching” during some of these girls’ “topless” interactions with Epstein, where he sometimes made “crazy noises,” according to the document.

The witness told investigators that “JE” would ask “do you like it or are you enjoying it,” describing Epstein as “very visual.” The investigator’s notes describing the interview indicate that the witness grew emotional and was unable to provide further details at the time.

Markings on the first page of the document indicate that it is an FBI form and that the interview was conducted by the New York field office. Epstein was indicted in the Southern District of New York in June 2019 but died by suicide in prison two months later.

Famed newsman Walter Cronkite pictured in latest Epstein drop

From CNN’s Allison Gordon

Late CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite is pictured several times in the latest batch of Epstein documents released Friday.

In a series of photos labelled “Walter Cronkite 1/07,” Cronkite sits across from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on a couch next to another man.

Earlier this year, Cronkite’s name was listed in a trove of flight logs made public by the House Oversight Committee. According to the document, he travelled with Epstein decades after his retirement from Newark, New Jersey, to Epstein’s private island in St. Thomas in January 2007.

Maria Farmer, an Epstein survivor who reported him in the 1990s, is vindicated by a released document

From CNN’s Devan Cole and MJ Lee

The Justice Department’s partial release of its files related to Jeffrey Epstein on Friday marked a moment of triumph for Epstein survivor Maria Farmer and her sister Annie, who have said for years that Maria filed one of the first complaints against Epstein in the 1990s.

An FBI document released Friday included a 1996 description of a criminal complaint against Epstein related to child pornography.

While the name of the complainant is redacted in the document, Maria Farmer’s lawyer, Jennifer Freeman, confirmed on CNN that the complaint was in fact made by her client.

The “facts of complaint” part of the document says that the woman — who describes herself as a professional artist — had taken photos of her underage sisters for her own personal artwork.

“Epstein stole the photos and negatives and is believed to have sold the pictures to potential buyers,” the document reads. “Epstein at one time requested (redacted) to take pictures of young girls at swimming pools.” It continued: “Epstein is now threatening (redacted) that if she tells anyone about the photos he will burn her house down.”

Freeman had previously told CNN that Farmer’s original complaint was one of the key documents she would search for when the DOJ’s Epstein files were released.

She said Friday evening that she is looking for more information from the files, including what the authorities did in response to Farmer’s complaint, when and why.

“Why didn’t they act to stop this?” Freeman said in an email to CNN.

The complaint, stamped September 3, 1996, underscores the fact that Epstein had been on the radar of law enforcement years before federal and state charges were brought against him in New York and Florida.

In a statement provided by the law firm representing Maria Farmer, the Epstein accuser said the FBI had “failed” her and other victims over the years.

Farmer’s sister, Annie, has previously said she was 16 when Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell abused her.

Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper, an emotional Annie Farmer said: “Just to see it in writing and to know that they had this document this entire time — and how many people were harmed after that date? We’ve been saying it over and over, but to see it in black and white that way has been very emotional.”

Inconsistent redactions present across Epstein files

From CNN’s Allison Gordon, Thomas Bordeaux and Michael Williams

From black boxes to sticky notes, the redactions in the Epstein files are far from uniform in the thousands of documents released Friday. The Justice Department appears to have been inconsistent when it came to protecting the identities of several men who are included in photographs in the documents.

In one series of photos, a young man’s face is initially covered with a black square. But in later images, his face is not redacted, with clear shots of him walking up a staircase and in a garage next to a luxury car. CNN has geolocated these photos to an opulent estate outside of Paris.

In another photo, a different man lying atop Ghislaine Maxwell is at first redacted. Elsewhere in the files, the same photo appears without his face redacted.

The Justice Department acknowledged to a federal court in New York Friday afternoon that the “size and scope” of the redaction process it undertook in recent weeks made the result “vulnerable to machine error” and “instances of human error.”

Justice Department officials expressed frustration over the speed at which they were required to process the files, CNN exclusively reported Thursday.

CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.

Epstein seen in photo with pop icon Michael Jackson

From CNN’s Em Steck

Among the thousands of documents released as part of the Epstein files is a photo of pop icon Michael Jackson standing next to Epstein. The two are seen standing in front of a painting of what appears to be a naked woman. It is unclear when or where the photo was taken.

Another photo released shows former President Bill Clinton with his arm around Jackson. Supremes singer Diana Ross is to their right. Epstein is not pictured.

Jackson died in 2009. CNN reached out to representatives for Clinton, Ross and Jackson’s estate for comment but did not immediately receive responses.

In 2003, Jackson was charged with child molestation and administering an intoxicating agent for the purpose of committing a felony against a 12-year-old boy and was later found not guilty.

Clinton has never been accused by law enforcement of wrongdoing related to Epstein. His spokesperson has repeatedly stated that Clinton cut ties with Epstein well before Epstein’s 2019 federal indictment and was unaware of his criminal activities.

“The White House hasn’t been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton,” Angel Ureña, a spokesperson for Clinton, said in a statement. “This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever. So they can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton.”

Photo in Epstein files shows Bill Clinton in London with actor Kevin Spacey

From CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck

One photo in the Epstein files shows former President Bill Clinton in London with his former top adviser Doug Band and actor Kevin Spacey inside the Cabinet Room of the Churchill War Rooms, an underground bunker complex in London that served as a command center during World War II.

The image appears to date from October 2002, when Clinton traveled to Africa on a humanitarian trip aboard Epstein’s private jet with Spacey and actor Chris Tucker. That trip included a stop in London, where Clinton delivered a speech to a Labour Party conference.

“It was a wonderful trip and I had such a good time I asked one of my traveling companions to come with me today, Kevin Spacey, who is over here,” Clinton said in his speech.

Band declined to comment to CNN.

Another photo shows Clinton in a different room in the War Rooms with Band.

Speaking on Spacey’s behalf, a source familiar with the matter told CNN, “we’re happy to see the files being released,” adding, “that trip still remains a huge highlight in Kevin’s life and the fact that the plane was owned by Epstein (3 years before he would first be investigated) is meaningless. Whatever activities may have been taking place in the background have nothing to do with Kevin. No more than if someone is doing something wrong in the hotel room next to yours.”

Epstein files include new photos of Bill Clinton

From CNN’s Marshall Cohen

Of the thousands of documents released as part of the Epstein files, several are never-before-released photographs of former President Bill Clinton with convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

One image shows a shirtless Clinton in a jacuzzi next to another person whose face is redacted. There are additional photos of Clinton swimming in an adjacent pool with Maxwell. These pictures show another woman swimming with Clinton and Maxwell, but her face is redacted.

Another one of the new images shows Clinton holding a drink and standing next to Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while in prison awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

It’s unclear where or when these photographs were taken.

Clinton has never been accused by law enforcement of any wrongdoing related to Epstein, and a spokesperson has repeatedly said he cut ties with Epstein before his arrest on federal charges in 2019 and didn’t know about his crimes.

“President Clinton knows nothing about the terrible crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York,” Ureña previously said in a 2019 statement posted to Twitter.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which mandated Friday’s disclosures, required the Justice Department to redact personally identifying information about Epstein’s victims. It’s unclear whether the people near Clinton in these new images are victims of Epstein’s abuse.

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