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By Gabe Whisnant
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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday released millions of additional records from its investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein, expanding disclosures under a law designed to reveal what the government knew about the financier’s sexual abuse of underage girls and his ties to wealthy and powerful figures.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department released more than 3 million pages of documents, along with more than 2,000 videos and roughly 180,000 images. The files were posted to the department’s website and represent a significant expansion beyond the limited release in December.
Blanche said the documents were the final ones that would be disclosed under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, legislation enacted after months of public pressure and bipartisan criticism of the government’s handling of records related to Epstein and his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.
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“After submitting the final report to Congress as required under the act and publishing the written justifications for redactions in the federal registry, the department’s obligations under the act will be completed,” Blanche said.
“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,” the deputy attorney general said at a news conference announcing the disclosures.
Read the DOJ's Epstein files in full here.
Largest disclosure yet under transparency law
Friday’s release marks the largest public disclosure to date in the Epstein case, a saga that has fueled years of scrutiny, speculation and conspiracy theories surrounding the government’s investigations and Epstein’s relationships with political leaders, business executives and cultural elites.
DOJ officials said the volume of material subject to review grew to roughly 6 million documents, including duplicates, after an additional trove of records was discovered following the initial December release.
Lawmakers had criticized that earlier disclosure as incomplete, noting that Congress had set a December 19, 2025, deadline for the release of all Epstein-related records. DOJ officials said the deadline was missed because of the time required to review sensitive material and protect the identities of victims.
Representative Ro Khanna, California Democrat, told Newsweek on Friday that the DOJ continues to withhold files related to Epstein, despite Blanche saying that Friday's release of more than 3 million files was the final tranche.
"The DOJ said it identified over 6 million potentially responsive pages but is releasing only about 3.5 million after review and redactions. This raises questions as to why the rest are being withheld," Khanna told Newsweek in an email after the release.
Trump in the Latest Epstein Files: What to Know
Justice Department and FBI records reviewed as part of the latest Epstein-related disclosures contain dozens of tips and allegations referencing President Donald Trump and other prominent figures, many of which were deemed not credible by investigators.
When reached for comment, the White House referred Newsweek to the DOJ press release, which states, "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."
Blanche said Friday morning that the DOJ is not making any attempts to protect Trump. “We did not protect President Trump. We didn’t protect—or not protect—anybody,” Blanche said. “Our focus was on compliance with the law and protecting victims.”
Even with the expanded disclosure, Blanche acknowledged that public demands for information may not be satisfied.
“There’s a hunger, or a thirst, for information that I don’t think will be satisfied by the review of these documents,” he said.
Epstein’s associates appear throughout the files
The newly released records include correspondence involving or referencing a wide array of Epstein’s associates across politics, business and royalty.
Among the most frequently mentioned figures is Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Britain’s Prince Andrew. His name appears hundreds of times in the documents, including in news clippings, private emails and guest lists for dinners organized by Epstein.
Some records also document efforts by federal prosecutors in New York to secure an interview with the former prince as part of their sex trafficking investigation. The former Prince Andrew has denied wrongdoing and previously settled a lawsuit brought by one of Epstein’s accusers.
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Emails show Musk discussed island visits
The records also include email correspondence between Epstein and Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla, regarding potential visits to Epstein’s private Caribbean island, Little Saint James, in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where many allegations of sexual abuse later surfaced.
Bannon texts, Lutnick invitation included
The documents also contain hundreds of text messages exchanged between Epstein and Steve Bannon during Trump’s first term in office.
Bannon, a conservative activist who served as Trump’s chief White House strategist early in the administration, discussed politics with Epstein and suggested meeting him for meals. In March 2019, Bannon asked Epstein whether he could arrange a flight to pick him up in Rome.
Epstein responded that his pilot and crew were attempting to arrange the flight and offered to pay for a charter if necessary. The records do not indicate whether the trip occurred.
In another set of records, Epstein invited Howard Lutnick—now Trump’s commerce secretary—to his private island for lunch in December 2012. Lutnick’s wife, Allison Lutnick, accepted the invitation in an email, writing that the family would arrive by yacht with their children.
Lutnick has previously said he distanced himself from Epstein years ago, calling him “gross” in a 2025 interview. He did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
A Department of Commerce spokesperson told Newsweek via email, "This is nothing more than a failing attempt by the legacy media to distract from the administration’s accomplishments including securing Trillions of dollars in investment, delivering historic trade deals and fighting for the American worker. Secretary Lutnick had limited interactions with Mr. Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing."
Epstein Accusers, Families Blast DOJ
Epstein accusers and their families criticized the Justice Department’s latest release of investigative records on Friday, calling it a “betrayal” that they said exposes survivors while shielding those who enabled the late financier’s abuse.
In a statement provided by the publicist for the late Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, the group said the massive trove of documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act prioritizes secrecy for alleged abusers at the expense of victims.
“This latest release of Jeffrey Epstein files is being sold as transparency, but what it actually does is expose survivors,” the statement said. “As survivors, we should never be the ones named, scrutinized, and retraumatized while Epstein’s enablers continue to benefit from secrecy.”
Updates: 1/30/26, 7:58 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
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