What’s inside the latest Epstein files released by the Justice Department
(CNN) — The Justice Department on Friday released more than 3 million pages of files related to the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after Congress passed a law last year forcing the Trump administration to do so.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a news conference the Justice Department has now completed its review of the files and that the White House had “no oversight” of the process. The documents released Friday contain references to President Donald Trump and other powerful figures, including Elon Musk, Bill Clinton and a former Obama White House counsel.
CNN reporters have been going through the documents, and you can read highlights below:
Editor’s Note: This story contains graphic and disturbing descriptions of sexual violence.
Trump’s DOJ compiled list in 2025 of tips that made allegations against Trump
From CNN’s Jeremy Herb
Officials at the FBI compiled a list of sexual assault allegations related to President Donald Trump this past August — many of which appear to have come from unverified tips — and the list was included as part of the millions of documents in the new Jeffrey Epstein files released by the Justice Department on Friday.
It’s not clear why the FBI officials created the list of allegations related to Trump last year. The document was included in emails that were sent by officials in the FBI’s New York field office on the Child Exploitation & Human Trafficking Task Force. Trump has long denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
There are more than a dozen allegations included in the document. “Yellow highlighting is for the salacious piece,” one official writes to explain how the allegations were being sorted.
Two versions of the document appeared to have been removed from the Justice Department’s website for a time Friday afternoon before they were restored without any apparent changes. A DOJ official said the document was down “due to overload” and was back online.
The allegations appear to be unverified, and the officials note that some are secondhand information. They appear to have been allegations that were received through the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center, which takes tips by phone and electronically. The document notes that in many instances, there was no contact made with the individuals who sent in the allegations, or no contact information was provided.
Some of the allegations were followed up on. One was sent to the FBI’s Washington field office to conduct an interview, and another was deemed not credible, according to the document.
“Was there anything in the file re follow up with the below individuals? 302s. etc?” one official writes.
There are also allegations made in the document against former President Bill Clinton, who has denied wrongdoing related to Epstein.
Asked for comment on allegations against Trump in the documents, the White House referred a reporter to the Justice Department press release, which says, “This production may include fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos, as everything that was sent to the FBI by the public was included in the production that is responsive to the Act. Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already.”
Diagram shows parts of Epstein’s inner circle but redacts some close associates
From CNN’s Sarah Owermohle
The Justice Department laid out a list of Jeffrey Epstein’s potential co-conspirators as part of its investigation into Epstein, but documents released Friday redacted several figures who were part of his inner circle.
The undated diagram shows the names and photos of several known close associates of Epstein, including convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell and Jean-Luc Brunel, a model agent with longtime ties to Epstein who faced rape charges in France. Brunel died by suicide in a French jail in 2022.
The other people identified by the DOJ were known Epstein employees, none of whom were charged in the investigation, though the document indicates that the DOJ was investigating people close to the convicted sex offender for potential involvement.
The Justice Department redacted the names and photos of five other individuals, including Maxwell’s assistant and four Epstein employees, one of whom was listed as a ‘girlfriend/employee.’
Victims and advocates have criticized the Justice Department for what they argue are heavy but inconsistent redactions of names and details in the millions of released documents.
The document lists 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 lists Leslie Wexner, the billionaire business magnate who employed Epstein as a money manager who has said he severed ties with Epstein in 2007.
Draft indictment from 2000s included alleged co-conspirators
From CNN’s Aaron Blake
The latest batch of documents indicates that, at least at one point, prosecutors felt they could charge more than just Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell with crimes.
A draft indictment from the Southern District of Florida from the 2000s would have charged Epstein alongside apparently three others who are described as having been “employed” by Epstein. They are mostly described as facilitating appointments between Epstein and girls. But their names are redacted.
The document, which followers of the case had been hoping to see, describes all of them as having conspired to “persuade, induce, and entice individuals who had not attained the age of 18 years to engage in prostitution.”
It’s not the much-rumored “client list” that many have hoped to see – but that the Justice Department has denied exists. But it is likely to lead to questions about who these people are and why they weren’t ultimately charged.
Epstein’s sweetheart deal to avoid much more serious charges in the late 2000s – he pleaded guilty to prostitution-related charges – is a major piece of this scandal.
Drafted, unsigned indictment included details of alleged abuse of minors, a threat and three co-conspirators
From CNN’s Holmes Lybrand
A draft indictment that was never brought against Jeffrey Epstein alleged that from 2001 to 2005, Epstein and three unnamed defendants engaged in a conspiracy to “procure females under the age of 18” to engage “in lewd conduct” for money “to satisfy Jeffrey Epstein’s prurient interests.”
Instead of bringing the 60-count indictment against the four people, federal prosecutors in 2007 reached a non-prosecution agreement with Epstein, who avoided federal charges and served 13-months in state prison over state prostitution charges.
In a 2020 review, the Justice Department found that former US attorney for the Southern District of Florida Alex Acosta had used “poor judgement” in the deal but did not find that Acosta had engaged in professional misconduct.
According to the drafted indictment, the unnamed co-conspirators would call the girls to travel to Palm Beach, Florida, for Epstein, who would then use and pay the girls.
The document also says that at least one of the girls would also “engage in lewd conduct” with one of the unnamed co-defendants for Epstein.
The 19 girls mentioned in the document – all under Jane Doe pseudonyms – ranged in ages, including some as young as 14, and would be paid several hundred dollars and sometimes be used to solicit other friends who would be asked if they were “interested in engaging in similar activities.”
In one instance, Epstein allegedly told one of the girls he was abusing “that if she reported to anyone what had occurred … bad things could happen to her.”
One unidentified defendant, according to the document, was often tasked with leading the women from Epstein’s kitchen to his master bedroom in Palm Beach where Epstein was waiting.
The document is not signed by a grand jury foreperson and, in the place for Acosta’s signature is a blank, unsigned space.
Epstein victim told FBI Maxwell once ‘presented’ her to Trump and made clear she was ‘available’
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen
One of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims told the FBI that his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell once “presented her” to Donald Trump at a party and suggested that she was “available,” according to an internal FBI memo released Friday.
The FBI memo is from mid-2021, a few months before Maxwell was convicted on federal sex trafficking charges. According to the memo, the witness said, ultimately, “nothing happened” between her and Trump, who has never been accused by investigators of involvement in Epstein’s or Maxwell’s crimes.
The victim said Maxwell brought her to a party in New York when she was about 22 years old, though it was unclear what year this took place. Maxwell “seemed very excited that there would be a lot of great men for” the victim “to meet,” according to the interview notes. The victim said that during the party, Maxwell “presented [her] to Trump,” and that the victim “felt that Maxwell presented her” by giving a rundown of her accolades, “similar to a CV.”
The memo said Trump invited the woman to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. She subsequently went on a tour there with the future president, Maxwell, and Epstein — and “by the things that Maxwell said, it was made clear that [she] was available,” the memo said.
Maxwell said things such as, “Oh I think he likes you. Aren’t you lucky,” according to the FBI memo, and also encouraged the victim to wear clothes that she thought Trump would like.
“It was set up very much like how Maxwell introduced [her] to Epstein,” the memo said.
FBI memos like these, known as 302s, memorialize tips and allegations from witnesses, but they do not typically contain information about whether the FBI could corroborate the information.
In response to questions about the FBI memo, the White House referred CNN to a Justice Department statement that said the millions of documents in Friday’s batch of Epstein files “may include fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos” because “everything that was sent to the FBI by the public” was included in the public release.
Trump has previously denied any wrongdoing with respect to Epstein.
Files include details of 1994 rape allegation against Trump from Jane Doe who dropped previous lawsuits
From CNN’s MJ Lee
Editor’s Note: This report contains details that some readers may find disturbing.
The Justice Department’s newly released files related to Jeffrey Epstein on Friday include an FBI form that details a complaint from a woman who accused Donald Trump of raping her when she was 13 years old.
This anonymous accuser previously launched lawsuits against Trump and dropped them, the last one right before the 2016 election.
The FBI document details multiple instances of alleged abuse of Jane Doe by Trump, including rape. It also says Epstein was allegedly “angry that Trump was the one to take Doe’s virginity” and also raped Doe. These descriptions mirror the allegations that Jane Doe made in her 2016 lawsuit.
Trump had previously denied the woman’s allegations, and the Justice Department has said of the documents, “This production may include fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos, as everything that was sent to the FBI by the public was included in the production that is responsive to the Act.”
Jane Doe was expected to appear at a news conference in Los Angeles in November of 2016, but the event was abruptly canceled. Her lawyer at the time, Lisa Bloom, said her client was too afraid to show up.
Asked by CNN for comment Friday, Bloom said she was no longer the woman’s attorney and declined to comment.
‘I thought you said not to involve Donald,’ Epstein told in email
From CNN’s Aaron Blake
A newly released email chain shows Jeffrey Epstein and someone who appears to have been Ghislaine Maxwell strategizing in 2011 about how to deal with new allegations from a woman who claimed she had worked at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Epstein first emails a former executive with Trump’s resort empire named Nicholas Ribis about “the girl in the new papers” who had claimed to have worked at Mar-a-Lago in 1998 at the age of 15, when Epstein thought it was in 2000 when she was 17.
“who would i go to verify, I dont’ know how Donald would respond„?” (sic) Epstein wrote.
Epstein forwards the message to “GMAX,” who responds: “I thought you said not to involve Donald.”
While the name of the accuser is redacted, the details match the account of Virginia Giuffre, whom Trump said last year he was aware Epstein had recruited from Mar-a-Lago. Giuffre also made her allegations public around the time of these emails, in 2011.
One of the big subplots involving Trump is what he knew and when about why Epstein was recruiting the likes of Giuffre. Trump has never been accused by law enforcement of wrongdoing related to Epstein’s crimes, and he has denied any wrongdoing.
FBI notes from witness interviews mention Trump and Bannon
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen
The Justice Department posted dozens of key FBI memos called “302s” on Friday — an important part of the massive drop of files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
These memos contain the notes taken by FBI agents when they interview witnesses. They memorialize what the witness told investigators. They don’t describe subsequent attempts to corroborate the information. But victims have been eager to see what’s in these files.
A witness told the FBI in June 2020 about former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s “relationship with Jeffrey Epstein,” but “was hesitant” to discuss the matter in detail because Bannon was “friends with powerful people,” according to one of the memos.
The identity of this witness is redacted, as is nearly all of the four-page document. But the FBI agents marked down that the witness previously worked in the marijuana industry.
Bannon has never been accused by law enforcement of any Epstein-related wrongdoing. CNN has reached out to a Bannon spokesperson regarding the new FBI memo.
Another one of the 302s contains notes from an apparent FBI interview with Virginia Giuffre, one of the most outspoken Epstein survivors, who died by suicide in April. The interview occurred in July 2013 at the US consulate in Sydney, Australia, where Giuffre lived at the time.
The partially redacted memo indicates that Giuffre told investigators about working as a teenager at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in south Florida, how she was recruited from there to work for Epstein, and about sexual abuse she was later subjected to by a redacted person that appears to be Epstein.
Law enforcement has never accused Trump of wrongdoing regarding Epstein. The White House has said Trump kicked Epstein out of his club because he was “being a creep,” and Trump has said they had a falling out because he “stole people that worked for me,” such as Giuffre. Regarding Giuffre’s time working at Trump’s social club, he previously claimed “she had no complaints about us … none whatsoever.”
Meanwhile, some of the 302s have been completely redacted, revealing nothing.
An underage victim told the FBI Epstein sexually abused her after she confided in him about a prior molestation
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen
Editor’s Note: This report contains some graphic and disturbing descriptions of sexual violence.
Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused an underage girl who had confided in him about previously being molested, she told the FBI in a 2021 interview.
The disturbing allegation come from an FBI memo known as a “302,” which describes a witness interview, but the document does not show whether the FBI was able to corroborate the claims.
Many of the hundreds of survivors of Epstein’s abuse have said they were eager for documents like these to be made public, so their stories could be told, and the depths of Epstein’s misdeeds could be fully revealed.
The partially redacted document says the girl told Epstein when she was around 14 years old that “her childhood was ‘shitty’” because she had been molested. Epstein responded that “he was sorry about that,” according to the interview notes.
According to the notes, the witness told investigators that she later gave “uncomfortable” massages to Epstein on multiple occasions where they were both naked. She said Epstein sometimes touched her sexually against her wishes, and she tried to rebuff him.
The notes say the victim “felt degraded when she went to Epstein’s home” and that she “felt taken advantage of,” but that she said she also “felt happy because she had a bunch of money” from the paid massages.
If you need help:
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: Call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), text START to 88788 or chat through website.
- National Sexual Assault Hotline: Call 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), text HOPE to 64673 or chat through website. Provided by RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network).
Emails show that Musk, who said last year he ‘REFUSED’ offers to go to Epstein’s island, tried coordinating multiple visits
From CNN’s Michael Williams
Elon Musk exchanged multiple emails with Jeffrey Epstein to coordinate trips to one of Epstein’s Caribbean islands, according to documents released by the Justice Department on Friday.
Musk had previously claimed that he rebuffed attempts from Epstein to get him to visit one of the two islands Epstein owned – Great St. James and Little St. James – in the US Virgin Islands. Little St. James was an epicenter of Epstein’s decades-long abuse of girls and young women.
But communications between the pair released Friday reveal that Musk tried in 2012 and 2013 to coordinate trips – at one point asking Epstein which day or night on the island would be the “wildest party.”
It’s not clear from the emails whether Musk ultimately visited.
On November 24, 2012, Epstein emailed Musk: “how many people will you be for the heli to island.”
Musk responded the next day that it would probably just be him and his then-wife.
“What day/night will be the wildest party on =our island?” Musk added.
On December 13, 2013, Musk emailed Epstein: “Will be in the BVI/St Bart’s area over the holidays. Is there a good time to visit?”
Epstein responded two days later and said the beginning of the new year would be good, adding: “always space for you.” On Christmas Day, Epstein said in another email: “the 2 or 3 would be perfect. I will come and get you.”
Musk first responded that he would need to fly back to Los Angeles on the night of January 2, before saying he could push his departure back a day.
“When should we head to your island on the 2nd?” Musk asked Epstein.
Representatives for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the new emails.
The emails show a level of communication between the pair that had not been previously revealed. Musk has tried to denigrate his opponents by trying to tie them to Epstein.
During their explosive feud last year, Musk suggested that President Donald Trump had slowed the rollout of the Epstein files because the president’s name was in them. That was part of the breakdown between the president and a man who had been one of his closest advisers.
In September, after Musk’s name was included in another batch of files, he sought to distance himself from the convicted sex offender. He said in a post on X at the time that “Epstein tried to get me to go to his island and I REFUSED.”
CNN’s Hadas Gold and Andrew Kaczynski contributed.
New email shows Epstein telling Larry Summers he doesn’t understand ‘how dumb’ Trump is
From CNN’s Sarah Owermohle
Multiple emails released Friday between Jeffrey Epstein and Larry Summers, former US treasury secretary and Harvard University president, show the two men gossiping about President Donald Trump during his first presidential term.
“How guilty is Donald?” Summers asked in a May 2017 email in which he went on to discuss the idea that Russia helped Trump win in 2016, which Summers deemed “plausible but not certain.” (Trump has long denied any complicity with Russia in that election.)
Epstein replied that “your world does not understand how dumb he really is.”
In an earlier, October 2016 email, Summers asks Epstein, “How plausible is idea t=at trump is real cocaine user?” Epstein replied “zero.”
In July 2017, Summers wrote to Epstein: “I think your friend is mentally ill.” Epstein responded that the person is “not my friend, and i ve told you that before.”
While neither referenced Trump by name, they went on to discuss his foreign policy actions and whether, as Summers said, “he was better than Hillary.” Epstein defended his record, citing work with Israel and India.
An earlier release of documents showed that Epstein and Summers corresponded for years after Epstein’s initial conviction.
Summers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He previously told CNN he is “deeply ashamed” of his correspondence with Epstein. Summers took leave from teaching at Harvard in November.
Epstein pleaded the Fifth in 2016 deposition for every question related to Bill Clinton
From CNN’s Em Steck
After Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre filed a defamation lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell in 2015, Jeffrey Epstein sat for a deposition in the case, which was first unsealed in 2024.
In the deposition from September 2016, Epstein repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to self-incriminate when asked more than a dozen questions about his relationship with former President Bill Clinton or the Clinton Foundation.
Some examples of the questions asked to Epstein were to “Please describe all dinners you’ve ever had with Bill Clinton” and “Please list every place you and Bill Clinton have ever been together.”
Lawyers also asked Epstein repeatedly about whether Clinton visited his private island and flew on his private plane. They also repeatedly asked Epstein whether he’s heard of the Clinton Foundation and for all his interactions with it.
For every question, Epstein responded: “Fifth.”
A spokesperson for Clinton has repeatedly said the former president cut ties with Epstein before he was charged with soliciting prostitution in 2006 and didn’t know about his crimes. Clinton has also denied ever having visited Epstein’s island.
Recently, the Clintons rebuffed a subpoena from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee to have them testify in a congressional probe related to Epstein. The House voted to hold the Clintons in contempt earlier this month.
Howard Lutnick planned meetings with Epstein long after he said he’d broken off contact, emails show
From CNN’s Michael Williams
Howard Lutnick and Jeffrey Epstein corresponded through intermediaries several times in 2011 and 2012 – years after Lutnick had vowed to never be in the same room with Epstein again, documents released by the Department of Justice on Friday show.
The documents reveal a deeper relationship between Lutnick and Epstein than had previously been known. Lutnick, the former chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald and current Commerce Secretary, was a onetime neighbor of Epstein in New York.
But he said in an interview last year that after a 2005 encounter at Epstein’s home, he grew uncomfortable and vowed that he “will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again.”
“So I was never in the room with him socially, for business — or even philanthropy,” he said in the October interview. “That guy was there, I wasn’t going, ‘cause he’s gross.”
The documents released Friday undercut that claim and reveal Lutnick sought to meet with or call Epstein several times since 2005, including after Epstein pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008.
A spokesperson for the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A 2011 email to Epstein from Epstein’s assistant said: “Howard Lutnick returned your call.” Another email to Epstein from his assistant reads: “Howard Lutnick will come see you at 5 p.m.” That same year, the heading of an alarm message reads: “Drinks w/Howard Lutnick”
The next year, both Lutnick’s wife and assistant communicated with an Epstein assistant to set up a visit and lunch on one of Epstein’s Caribbean islands, emails show.
“Jeffrey Epstein understands you will be down in St. Thomas some over the holidays,” Epstein’s assistant wrote in a November 20, 2012, email to Lutnick. “Jeffrey requested I please pass along some phone numbers to you so the two of you can possibly get together.”
The next month, Lutnick’s wife, Allison, said in an email that was forwarded to Epstein: “We are looking forward to visiting you,” adding the Lutnicks were part of a large group that included another family.
“We are heading towards you from St. Thomas,” Allison Lutnick wrote. “Where should we anchor exactly?” Representatives for Epstein asked what type of boat the Lutnicks would be arriving on so they could properly coordinate.
“188 foot yacht,” Allison Lutnick responded.
Trump commerce secretary invited Epstein to 2015 Clinton fundraiser he hosted
From CNN’s Em Steck
Howard Lutnick, the current US secretary of commerce and former CEO of financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald, was a longtime neighbor to Epstein. Lutnick lived next door to Epstein in Manhattan’s Upper East Side neighborhood.
Lutnick once described Epstein showing him and his wife a “massage room” in Epstein’s townhouse in 2005 that disgusted the couple, saying they decided they would “never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again.”
But an email from the newest batch of Epstein files shows that Lutnick sent an email to Epstein’s longtime assistant in November 2015 inviting Epstein to a Democratic fundraiser for Hillary Clinton that Lutnick hosted. It’s unclear whether Epstein attended.
CNN reached out to the Commerce Department for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
Former Israeli PM Barak stayed at NY apartment Epstein owned
From CNN’s Isabelle Khurshudyan
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and his wife, Nili Priel, stayed at an apartment in New York owned by Jeffrey Epstein multiple times, documents released by the Justice Department on Friday show.
Though the couples’ relationship with Epstein was previously known, email correspondence released in the DOJ’s Epstein files on Friday shed new light into the closeness of the Israeli politician and Epstein.
Like many powerful figures in Epstein’s orbit, Barak, who said he first met the late financier in 2003, continued his association with Epstein for years after he became a convicted sex offender following a controversial plea deal in 2008.
Barak has previously acknowledged his personal relationship with Epstein, but has said he never witnessed or participated in any improper behavior.
Priel emailed Epstein in May 2017 letting him know that she and Barak would be leaving the apartment for a few days to go to Harvard and asked if a cleaner could come by the place while it was vacant. Epstein then forwarded the message to someone who said she would be there the next day.
In a separate email exchange from Epstein’s assistant, Lesley Groff, Groff writes that she will contact Priel about switching out the cable box in the Baraks’ apartment for an Apple TV setup.
Other emails showed Groff, Epstein and Priel often wrote each other about when the Baraks would be visiting New York and setting up meetings between him and Epstein.
Former Obama WH counsel said ‘I adore him’ after Epstein booked her first-class trip to Europe
From CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski
Kathy Ruemmler, the top lawyer at Goldman Sachs and a White House counsel under former President Barack Obama, called Jeffrey Epstein “wonderful Jeffrey” and said “I adore him” in a December 2015 email exchange which appears to show Epstein booking and paying for her to have a first-class trip to Europe.
The email exchange, dated December 25–26, 2015, appears to show Epstein telling a redacted individual to arrange Ruemmler’s travel. The redacted individual explicitly proposed booking the f lights on Epstein’s credit card.
At the time, Ruemmler was the head of the white-collar crime practice at the law firm Latham and Watkins, which has said Epstein was never a client.
When the redacted individual asked Ruemmler if the trip needed to be organized on Christmas Day, Ruemmler replied, “Merry Christmas! No, no, no – I am so sorry for the intrusion. Please enjoy the day. Jeffrey is just being wonderful Jeffrey.”
A day later in response, Ruemmler provided her frequent-flyer number, and preferred route for an international trip to Geneva, with uncertainty about where she would return from.
When the redacted individual organizing the trip for Ruemmler replied that Epstein is “so very kind,” Ruemmler responded, “I know, and I never feel as if I can return the kindness adequately. I hope you are having a wonderful day.”
The redacted individual then told Ruemmler that Epstein considered her a “very good friend,” to which Ruemmler responded, “Well, I adore him. It’s like having another older brother!”
The December 2015 emails add to a body of past KFILE reporting that has raised questions about the nature and extent of Ruemmler’s relationship with Epstein.
As previously reported, Epstein referred to Ruemmler in a message as “my great defender,” sought her advice as he faced renewed scrutiny over his abuse of underage girls, and relied on her input while crafting responses to critical media coverage.
KFILE previously reported that Ruemmler appeared repeatedly on Epstein’s calendars for meetings, meals, and travel between 2014 and 2019, and that unsealed court records describe her providing legal advice on matters including media strategy, correspondence with lawmakers, and efforts to preserve Epstein’s controversial 2008 non-prosecution agreement.
Epstein’s estate has asserted attorney-client privilege over hundreds of emails involving Ruemmler, a claim that legal experts have said is inconsistent with the idea of a purely casual or informal relationship.
Ruemmler has said she regrets ever knowing Epstein and has denied representing him or advocating on his behalf. Goldman Sachs, where she now serves as chief legal officer, has said her relationship with Epstein was professional.
“As Kathy has repeatedly said, she had a professional relationship with Epstein. In fact, the plane ticket you’re highlighting was in relation to a business meeting with the mutual client that Epstein referred to Latham and Watkins,” a Goldman Sachs spokesperson told CNN.
Emails show former Obama WH counsel asked for Epstein’s ‘thoughts’ on statement declining attorney general job
From CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski
In October 2014, Kathy Ruemmler, as White House Counsel to Barack Obama, sent Jeffrey Epstein a draft public statement declining further consideration for the position of US Attorney General — and asked for his feedback.
The email, dated October 23, 2014, shows Ruemmler writing simply: “Draft statement. Thoughts?”
Ruemmler’s statement, typos included, read:
“I have always considered the Department of=Justice my professional home, and while I am deeply honored to be consider=d a candidate for Attorney General, I have informed the President that I m=st decline his further consideration.T he Attorney General serves a =nique role in the President’s cabinet, and must be perceived as indepe=dent from the White House. Any perception of a lack of independence becaus= of my prior role as Counsel to the President would not serve the Presiden=, the Justice Department’s, or the country’s interest at this time= and I have so informed the President.”
Ruemmler had left Obama’s White House that May. She is currently the top lawyer at Goldman Sachs.
Epstein replied with suggested edits, advising Ruemmler add the phrases “I believe” and commenting on how the statement would be received in “international news reports,” by saying she should add “United States,” after Attorney General.
The email was sent a day before Ruemmler publicly declined the role, though it does not appear she used the statement she sent to Epstein.
Ruemmler has said she regrets ever knowing Epstein and has denied representing him or advocating on his behalf. Goldman Sachs, where she now serves as chief legal officer, has said in the past her relationship with Epstein was professional.
Goldman Sachs and Ruemmler did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Epstein survivors say many victims’ names appear unredacted in files
From CNN’s MJ Lee
In the immediate aftermath of the Justice Department releasing millions of additional Jeffrey Epstein-related files on Friday, some survivors tell CNN that they have found numerous examples of victims’ names appearing unredacted throughout the documents.
One woman, who has chosen to remain anonymous as “Jane Doe,” has already found her name in multiple places, including in email exchanges she previously had with Epstein.
The woman’s lawyer, Jennifer Plotkin, who represents multiple “Jane Doe” Epstein victims, told CNN on Thursday that she had previously reached out to the DOJ asking that the department correct the fact that this client’s name was exposed in previous batches of files. Plotkin said she never heard back from the agency.
Other survivors tell CNN that they have also uncovered their own and other victims’ names.
The failure to properly redact victims’ names came despite Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche saying in a press conference Friday morning that the agency prioritizes victims’ privacy and well-being. Still, he added, “mistakes are inevitable,” and he encouraged anyone who sees problems to reach out to a DOJ email tip sheet.
Epstein’s cellmate pleaded with him to not kill himself, according to interview with federal investigators
From CNN’s Devan Cole
Editor’s Note: This report contains details that some readers may find disturbing.
Jeffrey Epstein’s cellmate at a Manhattan prison pleaded with the convicted sex offender not to kill himself in their shared cell, the man told federal investigators in a lengthy interview days after Epstein’s death.
The interview with Efrain Reyes on August 16, 2019, in which he detailed the time he spent with Epstein, was memorialized in several pages of handwritten notes taken by one of the Justice Department officials who was there. The names of the interviewers are redacted, but according to the documents, the assistant US attorney who took the notes and two FBI investigators were among the attendees.
“REYES was JEFFREY EPSTEIN’s cellmate at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in the Special Housing Unit (SHU), L Tier, Cell 220, until August 9, 2019,” an FBI document reads.
Reyes – who would go on to plead guilty to federal narcotics charges – was transferred out of the prison in a routine, prearranged move. One day later, Epstein died by suicide in the cell, in which he was staying alone at the time.
Reyes “told (Epstein) ‘don’t hang yourself up in my cell. Don’t try to kill yourself in this cell. I don’t want to wake up to find you dead,’” according to the notes released Friday. “(Epstein) said ‘don’t worry I’m never going to cause you trouble.’”
Reyes told the investigators that Epstein, a billionaire inmate with an attentive legal team, would use his wealth to his benefit to make life more comfortable in prison.
Epstein “would ask (correctional officers) for things (and) if they say no he would write down (their) name (and) say I’ll tell my lawyer – everyone on eggshells,” Reyes said, according to the notes.
For example, though inmates in the SHU were not allowed to have pens, Epstein had two, Reyes said.
Reyes died in November 2020 from Covid.
Release includes Maxwell arrest photos and financial documents
From CNN’s Alli Gordon and Marshall Cohen
The latest tranche of Epstein documents released by the Department of Justice on Friday include fresh information about his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, including booking photos with weight and height details, as well as pictures of her New Hampshire home from search warrant requests.
The newly released documents also contain dozens of Maxwell’s financial records.
There are documents from Maxwell-linked accounts at UBS, including one that described her investments and showed a balance of $773,775 in March 2019.
There is also a letter describing a $1 million wire transfer in 2016, as well as IRS documents about her tax returns.
Justice Department letter to Congress describes Epstein files review and redactions
From CNN’s Annie Grayer
The Justice Department outlined in a letter to Congress how it conducted its review of the Jeffrey Epstein files and provided more specifics on what was redacted in the more than 3 million pages released on Friday.
Approximately 200,000 pages have been “redacted or withheld based on various privileges,” the letter signed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche states, such as attorney-client privileges or deliberative process privilege.
Documents in a foreign language or that could not be uploaded for review due to technical issues were also not produced.
The letter said that the Justice Department is still trying to obtain additional documents that could later be released, including grand jury materials from a federal criminal case out of the Southern District of New York that charged corrections officers who worked at the correctional facility where Epstein killed himself with falsifying records.
Within 15 days of Friday’s release, the Justice Department will submit to Congress a formal report that includes a list of all “government officials and politically exposed persons” found in the Epstein files and a summary all of the redactions, as mandated by the law passed by Congress.
The letter said more than 500 attorneys and reviewers across DOJ helped process the files as a first step. Then 40 specialized attorneys conducted a second review.
“In practice, virtually all of the time and attention of Department personnel who participated in the manual review and redaction efforts was devoted to maximizing the protection of victim-identifying information,” the letter states.
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