December 23, 2025, 10:20December 23, 2025, 10:20
According to media reports, the US government published further documents on the case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and deleted them shortly afterwards. The files, which appear to be part of the investigation files, were available for download on the Justice Department website for several hours on Monday afternoon (local time), the Washington Post and Politico reported. Accordingly, there were thousands of government documents and emails as well as videos from the prison authorities.
Jeffrey Epstein in 2008.Image: www.imago-images.de
The files that the newspapers said they had available contained, among other things, information about US President Donald Trump’s flights with Epstein’s plane. During one of these flights, only Trump, Epstein and a 20-year-old woman were said to have been on board. In addition, an exchange between prison officials about Epstein’s mental state was published a few weeks before his death. The US government did not comment on the publication when asked by the newspapers.
Previously deleted files
The Justice Department uploaded thousands of files to its website last Friday after massive pressure from the public and the US Parliament. The release came on the last day of a deadline imposed on the ministry. Shortly after publication, several files were temporarily deleted. The reason was to protect victims, the ministry said. There was criticism from Congress for the incomplete publication of the material and the redaction of many documents.
In most documents, names, dates or entire sections were blacked out.
That’s why the Epstein files are so explosive
The Epstein case has been a concern for the public for a long time. For years, the multimillionaire from New York ran an abuse ring to which dozens of young women and minors fell victim. Epstein is said to have abused underage girls himself for several years. He died in prison in 2019 at the age of 66.
The financier had excellent contacts in high society, which led to numerous speculations about the scope of the scandal. A month ago, the law finally ordered the publication of the files, which Trump had long resisted. The US president knew Epstein well, as previous photos show. However, there is currently no evidence of the Republican’s involvement in the scandal. (sda/dpa)