Jeffrey Epstein files latest: Bondi accuses FBI of withholding ‘thousands of pages’ and demands Friday release

WorldPolitics
28 Feb 2025 • 5:22 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

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Pam Bondi has accused the FBI of withholding “thousands of pages” of Jeffrey Epstein documents as the U.S. attorney general demands that all documents are turned over by Friday morning.

In a public letter, Bondi asked newly-confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel to also investigate why, after repeated requests for their release, thousands of documents related to the Epstein probe had allegedly been withheld.

The attorney general instructed the bureau to turn over “all records, documents, audio and video recordings, and materials related to Jeffrey Epstein and his clients, regardless of how such information was obtained,” by 8 a.m. Friday.

In a post on X, Patel said that the agency is entering a new era and that “there will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned.”

The highly-anticipated “first phase” release related to the disgraced financier Thursday devolved into disappointment among conservative figures after it contained no major new allegations about Epstein nor his associates. About 200 pages – split between 10 files – include a series of flight logs from the politically connected sex offender’s private jet, a partly-redacted “contacts list,” and a blacked-out list of more than 250 “masseuses”.

Key points

  • FBI accused of withholding ‘thousands of pages’ of Epstein files as Bondi demands Friday release
  • 'Phase one' of declassified Epstein files released by DoJ
  • MAGA-world fumes over 'boring' documents
  • Right-wing influencers hold binders containing 'Epstein files'

Jeffrey Epstein's old NYC home once sold for $51 million

09:41

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Alex Lang

Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein once lived in an opulent New York City home on 71st Street.

The home was raided in 2019 by FBI agents as they investigated the case against the disgraced financier.

The home sat vacant for years after the raid and Epstein’s prison suicide.

That was until 2021, when former Goldman Sachs executive Michael Daffey purchased the home for $51 million, according to Fox Business.

"Mr. Daffey had never previously been in the home, nor did he ever meet its owner. But he is a big believer in New York's future and will take the other side of all the people who say the city's best days may be in the past," Stu Loeser, a spokesman for Daffey, told Fox Business in a statement at the time.

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Pam Bondi's full letter to Kash Patel demanding FBI release 'full and complete' Epstein files

09:19

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James Liddell

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Elon Musk says embattled Bondi and Patel 'thrown on ship with hostile crew'

08:55

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James Liddell

Ghislaine Maxwell continues to serve her sentence

08:23

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Alex Lang

Jeffrey Epstein’s lover, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted for her role in helping his sex trafficking ring. She was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison by a judge in 2020.

She remains behind bars to this day.

The jury found her guilty of recruiting and grooming four girls between 1994 and 2004 for sexual encounters with her former boyfriend Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison in 2019.

Here is what Maxwell had to say shortly before she was sentenced:

“I empathize deeply with all the victims in this case.

“I realize I have been convicted of assisting Jeffrey Epstein to commit these crimes. My association with Epstein will permanently stain me. It is the biggest regret of my life that I ever met him.

“I believe Jeffrey Epstein fooled all of those in his orbit. His victims considered him a mentor, friend, lover.

“Jeffrey Epstein should have stood before you. In 2005. In 2009. And again in 2019. But today it is for me to be sentenced.

“I am sorry for the pain you have experienced. I hope my conviction and harsh incarceration brings you peace and finality. I hope this date brings a terrible chapter to the end,” she said, adding she hoped the victims could “travel from darkness into the light.”

In 2018, a Miami Herald story helped expose Epstein

06:10

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Alex Lang

Jeffrey Epstein and his crimes flew under the radar for years — until a local reporter exposed him.

The Miami Herald drew praise for its coverage of Epstein and the allegations against him. The reporting helped shed light on his crimes and eventually led to federal charges.

Epstein was never convicted of those federal charges because he took his own life while in prison awaiting trial.

Were the Epstein Files ever classified?

04:54

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Ariana Baio

The documents related to Jeffrey Epstein’s case were never considered classified materials, despite public misconceptions and binders given out today to MAGA figures featuring the words “declassified.”

Documents in the case were filed under seal due to the sensitive nature of the allegations and the involvement of children.

Courts typically protect the identity and privacy of children in cases, and that is especially heightened in allegations involving sexual abuse.

A look back: Coverage from Epstein's death

03:45

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Alex Lang

Wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead in his prison cell in New York while awaiting trial for child sex trafficking charges, officials have said.

The billionaire reportedly hanged himself in his Lower Manhattan prison cell, according to multiple US reports.

His body was found in the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York on Saturday morning at around 7.30am.

That is how The Independent started its coverage of Epstein’s suicide while awaiting trial. While some still question how he died, his death was ruled a suicide.

He was awaiting trial for sex-trafficking and abusing minors for decades.

Here is a look back at the immediate coverage of his death:

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Even some longtime Trump backers are questioning the release

02:42

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Alex Lang

Social media is filled with reactions to the release of files related to Jeffery Epstein. While some of Trump’s faithful were seen holding binders with files, others have questioned the release.

Conservative commentator Candace Owens was one of those posters. She questioned why not all the information was being released immediately.

Many FBI files already released

01:41

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Alex Lang

The FBI’s website includes many links to files related to Jeffrey Epstein that have already been released.

The so called ‘vault’ includes public information on some of the FBI’s most asked about cases. The mass suicide at Jonestown, profiles on mobsters and the Robert F. Kennedy assassination are just some of the files that have been released on the FBI’s website.

MAGA-world is furious the Epstein Files are 'boring'

01:20

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Josh Marcus

Figures on the right reacted with anger on Thursday after the much-hyped release of federal files on the late Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased financier accused of running a sex trafficking ring involving minors, did not yield major new findings and featured some information that was already public.

“THIS IS NOT WHAT WE OR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ASKED FOR and a complete disappointment,” Representative Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican member of the House Oversight Committee, wrote on X after the release, adding her committee hadn’t reviewed the release. “GET US THE INFORMATION WE ASKED FOR!”

Former One America News Network host Liz Wheeler, one of the right-wing figures who got access to the newly released files, was also dismayed, and claimed the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) was hiding unspecified information.

“We’re talking recordings, evidence, etc. The juicy stuff. Names,” Wheeler wrote on X. “These swamp creatures at SDNY deceived Bondi, Kash, and YOU. Be outraged that the binder is boring. You should be. Because the evil deep state LIED TO YOUR FACE.”

Get the details in our full story.

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Epstein files include redacted list of 'masseuses'

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Josh Marcus

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The recent release of materials related to Jeffrey Epstein is sometimes notable in places even where no direct information has been communicated.

The papers include an entirely redacted, 254-point list labeled “masseuses,” which notes that the entries are “redacted to protect potential victim information.”

Epstein was known to have victims of his trafficking operation give massages to him and his friends.

DoJ releases 'first phase of declassified Epstein files'

00:49

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Phil Thomas

The Department of Justice has released a series of files in what it calls the first phase of papers related to the financier and sex offender, who died in a New York jail in 2019 in an apparent suicide.

The files were initially released only to a select group of MAGA influencers. But later on Thursday evening they were published online.

The 10 published files consist of an evidence list, a partly redacted contacts book, a fully redacted list of “masseuses,” and seven files of flight logs.

Epstein’s political and celebrity contacts – ranging from Donald Trump and Bill Clinton to Prince Andrew and Michael Jackson – have given rise to a series of conspiracy theories about his private island and whether he was really murdered.

While his former confidante, Ghislaine Maxwell, has been jailed in relation to his decades of abuse, no one else ever has been.

In Photos: MAGA faithful seen holding copies of the Epstein files

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Alex Lang

A group of Trump’s biggest social media allies were seen outside the White House with large folders stating it was copies of “Phase 1” of the Epstein files.

Here is a look at the scene

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House Judiciary rickrolls people with promise of Epstein files

Thursday 27 February 2025 22:00

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Ariana Baio

An X account for the House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee “rick-rolled” people in a post on X by claiming they had a link to the “Epstein Files.”

The official government account wrote, ”EPSTEIN FILES RELEASED” only to include a link to musician Rick Astley’s song Never Gonna Give You Up a form of trolling people.

Bondi asks FBI office in New York to hand over Epstein information: report

Thursday 27 February 2025 21:22

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Ariana Baio

Bondi reportedly has sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel demanding the New York field office hand over documents related to the investigation of Epstein, accusing the field office of not giving her the full amount.

In a letter from Bondi to Patel, obtained by Fox News, the attorney general said she requested the full case file before Patel was confirmed but discovered on Wednesday that it was not the full amount.

"Late yesterday, I learned from a source that the FBI Field Office in New York was in possession of thousands of pages of documents related to the investigation and indictment of Epstein,” Bondi’s letter to Patel reads.

Bondi says she only received 200 pages of documents

She is asking the FBI to hand over documents by 8 a.m.

The Independent has reached out to the DOJ for comment

Congresswoman in charge of task force to release Epstein files angry at leaks

Thursday 27 February 2025 20:30

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Ariana Baio

Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, the congresswoman tapped to lead the task force that will help release information of public interest, was angry that she was not given documents that a group of conservative influencers and the New York Post obtained.

On X, Luna said she and other members of the task force did not review Epstein documents being released.

According to reports, the documents are already publicly available information.

Luna went on to claim that the reports indicating it is not information are “a complete disappointment” and hoped there would be new information.

'Disappointment': NY Post reports filings will not contain new information

Thursday 27 February 2025 20:00

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Ariana Baio

The documents expected to be released as part of the ‘Epstein files’ will likely contain information that has been previously reported.

In an exclusive, the New York Post said a person familiar with the unveiling said it would contain a list of names from Epstein’s personal address book. Names have already been released in court filings and published online.

The person told the New York Post the unveiling would likely be a “disappointment” to some people.

Here are all the names released so far

Thursday 27 February 2025 19:30

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Ariana Baio

Ahead of the attorney general sharing information about flight logs and names associated with Epstein, here is a list of the names that have been released over the years.

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Right-wing influencers hold binders containing 'Epstein files'

Thursday 27 February 2025 19:00

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Ariana Baio

A group of notable right-wing influencers who have often used Jeffery Epstein’s case to promote their beliefs were invited to the White House on Thursday ahead of Attorney General Pam Bondi releasing the “Epstein files”.

The group included “LibsofTikTok” Chaya Raichik, “DC Draino” Rogan O'Handley, “Alx”, “Cernovich” Mike Cernovich, and Liz Wheeler.

Despite much information related to Epstein and his case, such as flight logs, names, and the so-called “black book” being released in court filings already, Bondi claims she will release more information today.

Trump lawyer believes ‘criminal action’ will be taken in Epstein case after documents released

Thursday 27 February 2025 18:30

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Ariana Baio

Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, told Piers Morgan she “absolutely” believes more criminal action will be taken in the Epstein case after the government releases more documents.

The Justice Department is expected to release documents today in the case – what they contain and if it is new information is unclear. So far, most information about Epstein’s flight logs, his so-called “black book,” and more have been released as a result of civil lawsuits.

But Habba, who defended Trump in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case, said she thinks more criminal lawsuits could emerge from the released documents.

The criminal suit against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s co-conspirator, resulted from civil lawsuits.

“I think it would be negligent for us not to. You have to hold individuals who are indeed rapists accountable we have to have them tried, in my opinion,” Habba told Piers Morgan.

Habba reiterated that documents will be released today.

What we know after AG Pam Bondi's Epstein list revelation

Thursday 27 February 2025 17:51

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James Liddell

Pam Bondi said that more files related to Jeffery Epstein are due to be released by the Department of Justice today, with the attorney general branding the documents as being “pretty sick.”

On Wednesday, Bondi revealed to Fox News host Jesse Watters that “some Epstein information” should be made public “tomorrow” after redactions are made to the identities to 250-plus alleged victims.

Flight logs, names and “a lot of information” is set to be revealed, Bondi said.

Specific timings of the highly-anticipated release were not disclosed.

Binder containing 'Epstein Files: Part 1' seen in West Wing

Thursday 27 February 2025 17:37

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Ariana Baio

A group of people was spotted holding a binder titled “The Epstein Files: Part 1” in the West Wing of the White House, according to a CBS News reporter

Bondi faced mounting pressure to release Epstein files this week

Thursday 27 February 2025 17:23

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James Liddell

Sen. Marsha Blackburn: 'This is going to be a phase one release'

Thursday 27 February 2025 16:24

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James Liddell

Did Donald Trump fly on Epstein's 'Lolita Express'?

Thursday 27 February 2025 16:00

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James Liddell

Flight logs released by prosecutors in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial show Donald Trump flew with Jeffrey Epstein numerous times on his private jet, a Boeing 727 called “Lolita Express,” with his former wife Marla Maples and his children Eric and Tiffany Trump, as well as a beauty queen and a senior aide to Bill Clinton.

Epstein often used the plane to ferry young women between New York and his main residence in Palm Beach, where many of his alleged acts of sexual abuse are believed to have taken place.

“We know he [Clinton] was on the plane, called the Lolita Express, multiple times. He has been a continued friend of his for many years,” Pam Bondi, Trump’s newly appointed attorney-general, told Fox News last month – though Clinton has denied the claim.

“Contrast that with Donald Trump, who had not spoken to him for over a decade after he kicked him out of Mar-a-Lago for bad behavior.”

Trump and Epstein are believed to have fallen out over a real estate dispute in the 1990s, years before Epstein’s first arrest for soliciting prostitution, and Trump has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse.

“I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you,” he said in the Oval Office the day after New York authorities took Epstein into custody in July 2019.

In September, the president told podcaster Lex Friedman that insisted that he never visited Epstein’s private paradise of Little St James in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

When Friedan probed about Trump showing “some hesitation” about releasing the Epstein files, he replied: “I don’t think – I mean, I’m not involved... I never went to his island, fortunately, but a lot of people did.”

Bondi 'putting herself at great risk,' congresswoman says

Thursday 27 February 2025 15:35

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James Liddell

Boebert says Epstein list will be 'shock to system'

Thursday 27 February 2025 15:10

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James Liddell

What is the congressional task force determined to 'end an era of secrecy'?

Thursday 27 February 2025 14:51

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James Liddell

After his inauguration on January 20, Donald Trump signed an executive order calling on agencies to create plans to distribute federal secrets in a bid to increase government transparency.

Earlier this month James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, announced the establishment of the investigative unit — led by Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna — which would decide whether to publish materials related to federal government interests and “end an era of secrecy.”

Luna, a fierce Trump supporter who is lobbying to have his face carved into Mount Rushmore, said that along with releasing the disgraced financier’s contact list, her team will investigate the September 11 terrorist attacks, the origins of Covid-19, the assassinations of JFK and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and UFOs.

The congresswoman said the task force was open to both Republicans and Democrats and that its first hearing is expected to be held in March.

'Federal secrets' task force head received letter from Bondi's office on Epstein, JFK, MLK files

Thursday 27 February 2025 14:45

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James Liddell

A new congressional task force was assembled earlier this month to declassify documents and expose “federal secrets” – including the release of Jeffrey Epstein’s “client list”.

Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna is heading up the unit, aiming to publish materials related to federal government interests and “end an era of secrecy.”

Eleven letters were issued to top U.S. security and intelligence officials, with one addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting a briefing by no later than next Tuesday regarding “what documents (if any) are in your possession regarding the investigation into and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein.”

On Wednesday evening, Luna revealed on X that she got a response from Bondi’s office:

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GOP lawmaker sends letter to Bondi encouraging release of Epstein files

Thursday 27 February 2025 14:27

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James Liddell

Tennessee Representative Any Ogles has shared a letter with Attorney General Pam Bondi encouraging her to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Ogles, who last month proposed revising the Consitution’s 22nd Amendment to allow Donald Trump to run for a third term, shared the letter on X Wednesday.

“I sent a letter to @AGPamBondi this afternoon, encouraging her to release the Epstein files,” he said. “Pleased to see she’s announced this evening that she will be releasing them tomorrow!”

After stating he stands “ready to assist” he leveraged his own proposed bill, called the Preventing Epstein Documentation Obliteration (PEDO) Act, in response to alleged “reports” that the FBI is “attempting to destroy critical records,” he said.

Read the full letter below:

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Watch: Bondi reveals what to expect in 'sick' Epstein files

Thursday 27 February 2025 14:07

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James Liddell

What really happened on Epstein’s island?

Thursday 27 February 2025 13:46

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Jabed Ahmed

The accusations of what happened on the island are shocking.

According to a lawsuit filed by Prince Andrew’s accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Little St James was the centre of a worldwide grooming scheme in which recruiters working for Epstein targeted young women who were open to abuse and manipulation, played on their hopes and fears, dazzled them with “displays of vast weath and power” and then force them to have sex with clients while keeping them in line with threats and blackmail.

The lawsuit described the islands as just one step in a worldwide web of private flights that ferried sex trafficking victims to London, Paris, Tangier, Granada (in Spain), St Louis, Palm Beach, Atlantic City and beyond.

Ms Giuffre said that Prince Andrew had sexually abused her on Little St James when she was 17, which the prince “unequivocally” denied. In 2022, he agreed to settle the suit out of court for an undisclosed sum, without admitting liability.

The Virgin Islands attorney general’s office made similar claims, saying: “Between 2001 and 2019 the Epstein Enterprise transported underage girls and young women to the Virgin Islands, who were then taken via helicopter or private vessel to Little St James where they were deceptively subjected to sexual servitude, forced to engage in sexual acts and coerced into commercial sexual activity and forced labour.

“To accomplish his illegal ends, Epstein formed an association with multiple defendants and others (both companies and individuals, who were willing to participate in, facilitate, and conceal Epstein’s criminal activity in exchange for Epstein’s bestowal of financial and other benefits, including sexual services and forced labour from victims.”

Some of those victims, it added, were as young as 12.

Many Epstein Files already relase

Thursday 27 February 2025 21:27

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Alex Lang

The FBI’s website includes many links to files related to Jeffrey Epstein that have already been released.

The so called ‘vault’ includes public information on some of the FBI’s most asked about cases. The mass suicide at Jonestown, profiles on mobsters and the Robert F. Kennedy assassination are just some of the files that have been released on the FBI’s website.

Full report | AG Pam Bondi confirms ‘pretty sick’ Jeffrey Epstein files coming Thursday

Thursday 27 February 2025 13:33

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Jabed Ahmed

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Who did Epstein host on his island?

Thursday 27 February 2025 13:26

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Jabed Ahmed

Among the famous names reportedly hosted by Epstein were theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, Nobel laureate Lawrence Krauss, comedian Chris Tucker, Victoria’s Secret magnate Les Wexner, model Naomi Campbell, former Tony Blair aide Lord Peter Mandelson and Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom.

It has been claimed that Bill Clinton was also a guest, though he denies ever having been there. Donald Trump reportedly flew on one of Epstein’s private jets, but it is unclear if he visited the island. The magician David Copperfield is even said to have proposed to supermodel Claudia Schiffer there.

Guests would arrive on one of Epstein’s Gulfstream jets at Cyril E King Airport on St Thomas, in a private area separate from the main runway. They would then be shuttled to Little St James on one of Epstein’s black helicopters.

The Epstein List: Full list of names revealed in unsealed court records so far

Thursday 27 February 2025 13:14

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Tom Watling

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Where is Jeffrey Epstein’s island?

Thursday 27 February 2025 13:01

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Jabed Ahmed

Little St James is a small island fringed by coral reefs in the bright blue waters of the US Virgin Islands, with sheltered inlets and forested groves rising to dramatic windswept ridges and craggy cliffs.

It lies just off the south-eastern tip of St Thomas, one of the Caribbean archipelago’s three main islands.

The Virgins were purchased from Denmark by the US government at the height of the First World War in order to stop them being used as a German submarine base.

Today, many financial experts regard them as a tax haven, with huge discounts on corporation tax and personal income tax available to companies based there.

It was in the Virgins that Epstein registered as a sex offender in 2010, following his first conviction for child prostitution in 2008. He also based his shell companies in a small unmarked office in a seaside strip mall on St Thomas, alongside a Sam’s Mini-Mart and a salon called Happy Nails.

In 1998, he bought Little St James from venture capitalist Arch Cummin via a shell company, reportedly paying just under $8m (£6m). The new owner quickly scoured away all the native vegetation and replaced it with 40-foot palm trees.

Starting in 2007, Epstein began a massive programme of building and remodelling that drew suspicion from local officials. His main compound nearly doubled in size, sprouting into a plush mansion with an outside terrace connecting the master bedroom and the swimming pool, along with a desalination system.

Inside the committee that will look at the nation’s biggest secrets

Thursday 27 February 2025 12:47

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Jabed Ahmed

A new Republican-led task force in the House intends to investigate and release formerly classified information related to several major events that have spurred conspiracy theories that have lingered across the U.S. such as the assassination of former president John F. Kennedy Jr., the September 11 terrorist attacks and the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein.

The task force, called the “Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets,” will be led by controversial Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna – a staunch ally of President Donald Trump.

It seeks to declassify records related to areas of “public interest” as part of Trump’s executive order on releasing information about the assassinations of Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy.

Representative James Comer, the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, announced the task force would “build” on the Trump administration’s goal to declassify records of “national importance.”

Details: Hundreds of 'sick' Epstein files to be released

Thursday 27 February 2025 12:30

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Tom Watling

Hundreds of secret files on Jeffrey Epstein will be released today detailing the horrific extent of his crimes.

“This will make you sick,” said attorney general Pam Bondi. “200 victims. 200. So we have well over -- 250, actually. So we have to make sure that their identity is protected and their personal information.”

Epstein files to be released - report

Thursday 27 February 2025 12:29

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Tom Watling

US attorney general Pam Bondi says they are planning to release hundreds of secret files on the late financier accused of sex trafficking Jeffrey Epstein.

“Breaking news right now, you're going to see some Epstein information being released by my office,” she told Fox News' Jesse Waters on Wednesday night.