Multiple celebrities have appeared as the US government has begun releasing some, but not all, of its files relating to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Trump administration revealed a tranche of documents, dubbed the Epstein files, earlier this morning (local time) via the Department of Justice’s website.
It’s expected that hundreds of thousands of files will still be released, but some have been withheld for further review on the same day of the deadline set out by US Congress.
The documents that have been revealed are laid out in what’s called the “Epstein Library”. They include to-do lists, receipts, letters, address books and photographs.
A raft of celebrities and notable figures have appeared in the files. Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton, Sarah Ferguson, Mick Jagger, Prince Andrew, Diana Ross and Richard Branson each appear in photographs released in the first tranche of files.
The photos do not imply any wrongdoing, with many including no context as to where and when they were taken.
One photo shows former President Clinton in a swimming pool alongside Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and several unidentified women.
Another features Prince Andrew, recently revoked of his royal titles amid the Epstein scandal, lying on the laps of five women with redacted faces.
Other images show Epstein holding a cake in the shape of a woman’s breasts, and Jackson posing for photos with Clinton.
Various other names appear in Epstein’s contact book. That document spans a range of celebrities, politicians, business tycoons, royals and socialites.
Naomi Campbell, Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman, Joan Rivers, Liz Hurley and Courtney Love are named in the contact book, as well as former British prime minister Tony Blair, media mogul Rupert Murdoch and several members of the Kennedy family.
The appearance of those names does not equate to any wrongdoing.
Several members of the Trump family, including Ivana and Ivanka, featured in the newest batch of documents. At the time of writing, there is only scarce mention of Donald Trump, though he did appear in other rounds of files released throughout the course of this year.
As it stands, the ongoing release of the files is only a fraction of what’s to come.
Hours before their release, US Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department would reveal “several hundred thousand” documents today as well as “several hundred thousand more” over the “next couple of weeks”, per the ABC.
It all comes as the result of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was spearheaded by a US congressional committee and is seeking to uncover all the ties, and alleged cover-ups, relating to Epstein.
Trump initially pushed back against the congressional efforts and described them as a “Democrat hoax”. He later backflipped on that position and called for the immediate release of the documents, saying “it’s time to move on from this”.
This story is developing.
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