For several days, Attorney General Pam Bondi talked about the release of the “Epstein Archives,” said a secret document the federal government has for some powerful financier Jeffrey Epstein, who is a secret document.
But Ms. Bundy released about 200 pages of documents released Thursday with little new information, indicating that anyone except Mr. Epstein, a registered sex offender, died in prison. The document dump consists largely of the flight logs of Mr. Epstein’s plane (released long ago) and has contact information with hundreds of employees and a brief description of the items found in his residence.
The press release is called a gesture of the Department of Justice’s transparent new era. But the first hype documents (Ms Bundy laughed at “breaking news” in a Fox News appearance Wednesday night) appeared to be primarily political theaters. Its confusing day launch has even been disconnected from some new conspiracy theories among some Trump supporters who believe Epstein’s investigation is the source of other conspiracies.
On Thursday afternoon, FBI Directors Bondi and Kash Patel provided a preview of the files to several conservative influencers, some of whom emerged from the West Wing, waving a chunky white adhesive with “Epstein Files: Epstein Files: phase I” on it. One of them later called it a “interesting souvenir.”
But in the afternoon, the Ministry of Justice has not released the content yet. Ms. Bundy is criticizing those in her words the night before. Conservative Glenn Beck posted on X: “Epstein Archives is a joke,” asked, “Who is subverting POTUS?”
Ms. Bondy’s response is that more documents are expected. Later, she said “sources” from the FBI field office in New York City told her that her spokesman provided a letter to reporters withheld “thousands” of previously unknown documents related to Epstein, and she was determined to get them.
The documents were released late Thursday, with Mr Patel’s statement saying: “If there are gaps, we will find them. If the records are hidden, we will find them.”
Still, some Republicans in Congress expressed dissatisfaction with the information Ms. Bundy posted.
“This is not what we or the American people demand, and it is also totally disappointed. Give us the information we need!” Florida representative Anna Paulina Luna wrote.
Mr. Epstein, a college dropout and self-proclaimed financial fanatic, committed suicide in August 2019, a month after he was arrested on charges of federal sexual trafficking.
Mr. Epstein is believed to have sexually abused more than 200 teenage girls and young women over thirty years. During that time, he amassed $600 million worth of wealth and became friends with some of the most powerful and famous people in the world.
The documents were eventually included in the 254-person list, known as Masseuses, in the document released Thursday night.
Many bold names related to Mr. Epstein first debuted in 2015, when Gawker published what he called “names, numbers and addresses.”
The list includes retail giant Leslie Wexner, private equity tycoon Leon Black, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and venture capitalist Reid Hoffman. All of these people say they regretted their connection with Mr. Epstein.
It has long been known that President Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew of Britain, and celebrities including Kevin Spacey and Naomi Campbell were friendly with Mr. Epstein at one time, some took Mr. Epstein’s private jet, clearing logs, trial testimony and court documents.
The most famous flight log is a 118-page document produced during the criminal trial of Mr. Epstein’s long-time colleague and ex-girlfriend. She was convicted in 2021 on suspicion of helping Mr. Epstein with sexual trafficking.
It’s a lot of moments about the Trump administration. Ms. Bundy and Mr. Patel, who oversee important national security and criminal investigations, chose to prioritize a long-term settlement case to alleviate the obsession of conservative media and Trump supporters who see the case as evil unimplemented business.
Conspiracy theorists have argued for years that the government has covered not only the cause of Mr. Epstein’s death, but also the names of powerful men who abused some of the victims, including teenage girls and women.
On right-wing media platforms such as Fox News and Trump’s own service, Truth Social, have long talked about the “Epstein Client List”, detailing the names of the men who Mr. Epstein asked for women for women. However, no “customer list” was mentioned in any civil lawsuit filed by the victim.
Before joining the Trump administration, Ms. Bundy sparked some speculation by talking in media interviews about the administration’s refusal to release Epstein documents.
The FBI also refused to release some documents that lawyers asked victims and news media to request. In October, the FBI rejected a New York Times request for a Freedom of Information Act request that federal agents search all items seized by federal agents when they searched Mr. Epstein’s residence in New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands after their arrest in July 2019.
Ms. Bundy’s documents may include partial descriptions of some of the projects that federal agents seized. Under the title “List of Evidence”, the items “VHS Tape”, “Contains 4 CDs” and “Photoes of Two Girls” are briefly described.
More than twenty of Mr. Epstein’s victims have joined the lawsuit, accusing the FBI of inappropriate investigations into his activities while ignoring the complaints filed by the victims.
Jordan Merson’s law firm is handling the lawsuit, saying Ms. Bundy has taken a good first step, which he hopes will “take the pain of her victims seriously” and they are suing the FBI
