Biggest Epstein leak here: Three million files released

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Biggest Epstein leak here: Three million files released
Photo: J Scott Applewhite/AP/TT

The U.S. Department of Justice has released over three million documents, images, and videos from the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who is deceased. Several well-known names appear, including Elon Musk.

The new material contains 2,000 video clips and 180,000 images. The material has been published on the Justice Department's website.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a press conference that all the women in the photos have been redacted, except for Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

American media reports that several famous people appear in the documents. Some of those mentioned - such as Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates - had previously known connections with Epstein.

Another one that appears is Elon Musk, the world's richest man.

“When are we going to your island?”

Musk has previously stated that he was invited but never visited Epstein's Caribbean island, CNN reports. However, in email correspondence with Epstein from 2013, Musk appears to be trying to book a visit.

"When are we going to your island?" he wrote, among other things. It is not clear whether the visit actually took place.

It was in November that Congress issued a legal requirement that all documents related to the Epstein investigation be released by December 19.

The process has been criticized for being too slow. Blanche has pointed out that it has taken time to protect the identities of the more than 1,000 of Epstein's victims who appear in the documents.

3.5 million

According to the Justice Department, the files contain "false and sensational claims about President Trump." Among them is a list that the FBI compiled as recently as this summer of unsubstantiated allegations against Trump, who has long denied wrongdoing in his dealings with Epstein.

Friday's round of Epstein files was the largest yet and is said to be the last. In total, about 3.5 million documents have been released. No files have been withheld to protect national interests or at the behest of the White House, Blanche said.

About 200,000 documents have been withheld or redacted for various reasons, The New York Times reports. According to the Justice Department, they are not releasing anything that could reveal the identities of victims or material depicting child abuse, among other things.

Facts: The Jeffrey Epstein case

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An investigation into Jeffrey Epstein began in 2005 after a 14-year-old girl told police that she had been molested by him at his home in Palm Beach, Florida. The investigation grew and in 2007 he was indicted in federal court.

After a plea deal with prosecutor Alexander Acosta, Epstein was sentenced to 18 months in prison for sex trafficking in 2008. He was released after 13 months.

The case received renewed attention in 2018 after a series of articles in the Miami Herald in which women came forward and accused Epstein of sexual assault during the period 2001 to 2005.

In early July 2019, Epstein was arrested at an airport in New Jersey. The new charges against him concerned the abuse of dozens of underage girls between 2002 and 2005. According to the prosecution and articles in the Miami Herald, Epstein tried to buy witnesses' silence with millions of dollars. Epstein denied the crime.

On August 10, 2019, Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, he apparently took his own life.

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By TT News AgencyEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for our readers

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