The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has released a list of approximately 300 politicians, business leaders and public figures whose names appear in records related to convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein. The disclosure follows assurances to Congress that documents related to the case will be made public under transparency requirements.
minister of justice Pam Bundy Deputy Attorney General Todd Branch said in a letter to congressional judicial leaders that the Justice Department is releasing all materials in its possession related to specific categories of the Epstein investigation. They said being mentioned in the documents did not imply wrongdoing.
What the Department of Justice released and what remains
Just weeks after the Dec. 19 deadline set by the Epstein Documents Transparency Act, officials reviewed about 6 million pages of documents and released more than 3.5 million pages of records, according to the Justice Department.
The material withheld includes material protected by attorney-client privilege, work product protection, and deliberative process privilege. The Justice Department also redacted the names of the victims and redacted personally identifiable information.
Branch has previously said a handful of documents remain in litigation and may be released if approved by the court.
Officials stressed that no records were withheld due to “embarrassment, reputational harm or political sensitivity” and that any omissions may reflect the scale and speed of the review.
Notable people mentioned in the document
The list includes current and former political leaders, celebrities and business figures. Mentioned include Donald Trump, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates, Prince Harry, Woody Allen, Kamala Harris, Mark Zuckerberg, Bruce Springsteen, Elon Musk, Pope John Paul II, Nancy Pelosi, Hakeem Jeffries and Beyoncé, among others.
The Justice Department clarified that some people appeared only when passing on references, including mentions in documents or news reports that had nothing to do with Epstein or others. Ghislaine Maxwell Very important.
Checklist
congressional pressure
The release comes amid continued pressure from lawmakers for greater transparency into Epstein’s trafficking network, financial operations and handling of the investigation.
Also read: Who is Lesley Groff? The woman mentioned 150,000 times in Epstein’s dossier?
The letter was sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin, as well as House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin.
Last week, Rep. Ro Khanna, who co-led the transparency legislation with Rep. Thomas Massie, read several names on the House floor, claiming they were being withheld. The U.S. Justice Department later said four of the men, who only appeared in the New York photo series, had no known ties to Epstein and were still being verified.
