As promised earlier in the day, the first tranche of records related to Jeffrey Epstein was released by the U.S. Department of Justice. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who’d asserted last week that she had the Epstein files on her desk, revealed Thursday afternoon in a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel that she’d learned from a whistleblower that thousands of pages related to Epstein had been withheld by the FBI’s New York field office. Bondi said in the letter that she’d been assured by the FBI – prior to Patel’s swearing-in – that all of the documents had been turned over. She ordered Patel to ensure that the full files be delivered to her desk by 8:00 AM on Friday morning, February 28.
Shortly before 7:00 PM Thursday night, the first phase of heavily-redacted documents (the same documents given to a set of independent conservative media influencers at the White House Thursday morning) were posted to the DOJ’s website.
In a press release, the department stated that most of the documents had been previously leaked:
Today, Attorney General Pamela Bondi, in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), declassified and publicly released files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his sexual exploitation of over 250 underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida, among other locations. The first phase of declassified files largely contains documents that have been previously leaked but never released in a formal capacity by the U.S. Government.
The press release also referenced the issue with FBI interference in producing the full and complete set of documents:
Attorney General Bondi requested the full and complete files related to Jeffrey Epstein. In response, the Department received approximately 200 pages of documents, however, the Attorney General was later informed of thousands of pages of documents related to the investigation and indictment of Epstein that were not previously disclosed. The Attorney General has requested the FBI deliver the remaining documents to the Department by 8:00 AM on February 28 and has tasked FBI Director Kash Patel with investigating why the request for all documents was not followed.
The Department remains committed to transparency and intends to release the remaining documents upon review and redaction to protect the identities of Epstein’s victims.
Patel issued a statement on the matter on X, which was also referenced in the DOJ’s press release:
“The FBI is entering a new era—one that will be defined by integrity, accountability, and the unwavering pursuit of justice. There will be no cover-ups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned — and anyone from the prior or current Bureau who undermines this will be swiftly pursued. If there are gaps, we will find them. If records have been hidden, we will uncover them. And we will bring everything we find to the DOJ to be fully assessed and transparently disseminated to the American people as it should be. The oath we take is to the Constitution, and under my leadership, that promise will be upheld without compromise.”
The documents can be downloaded at this link; we will post them directly to this piece shortly.
