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On Thursday, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) partially released phase 1 of the controversial “Epstein Files," which contained an evidence list, flight logs, a redacted contact book, and a masseuse list pertaining to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The released files also included a heavily redacted flight log. 

As reported by The New York Times, Epstein’s contact book contains several prominent names spanning across politics, business, and the entertainment industry.  

Figures in the Epstein Files range from Michael Jackson, supermodel Naomi Campbell, and Ethel Kennedy, to Mick Jagger, Courtney Love, and Alec Baldwin.  

The Trump administration’s DOJ did release more than 100 pages of the document as well. The list has been made public by officials of Department of Justice, and it contains only the names, and not the addresses, which have been redacted. They did stressed that the list is not a client list but rather a collection of contact Epstein purchased.

Les report “The Epstein Files: Phase 1" is said to be missing a plethora of explosive details. “This list is rehashed information,” The New York Times said, “that has already been filed in various suits and leaks over the years and makes the list far less scary than some may have expected.”

While discussing with Fox News on Wednesday, US Attorney General Pam Bondi had said that the DOJ anticipates publishing “a lot of flight logs, names, details,” pertaining to Epstein’s case.

Epstein was a British financier alleged to have sexually abused over 100 women, many of which were minors.

The justice department also sent out a blacked-out list of an assortment of masseurs and evidence lists that show the total over 150 entries – such as nude photographs, tables intended for massage, sex toys, and other items. It remains uncertain whether the list pertains to Epstein’s case, his confidante Ghislaine Maxwell’s case, or some other investigation.

Donald Trump, the president during Epstein's arrest in 2019, said last year while campaigning that he would try to access the government files.

However, the release of the documents - which were for the first time distributed to political commentators at the White House a few hours prior in folders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase I” - revealed the administration’s love for publicity and their preference for right-wing personalities with significant social media engagement, the Associated Press claimed.

In contrast, the Justice Department’s website had different plans. The document release was uploaded to the website hours later with a note attempting to downplay their importance. “The initial group's declassified documents consist of records that have been leaked in the past but have never been formally acknowledged by the United States Government,” the note stated.

In a Thursday letter, Bondi issued to FBI Director Kash Patel saying more files may have come to fore. As per reports from the Associated Press, “on Friday morning demand the FBI deliver ‘the complete Epstein files’ to me” was issued to the director alongside instructing him to “launch an immediate inquiry” on the failure to comply with her directive.

In a post on X Patel stated, "I will do everything to provide leadership of the Justice with all documents."

In the early 2000s, Epstein was charged with sexual misconduct of numerous minors, but he only served 13 months of prison time. He was indicted on federal charges in New York in 2019 after more than a decade of having his federal prosecutors in Florida throw away similar sex trafficking charges against him due to a mysterious deal made in private.

This case has received considerable mainstream coverage due to the connections that Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell had with royals, presidents, and billionaires. Maxwell is the daughter of the British media business Robert Maxwell who owned the New York Daily News.


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