Brandon Livesay
Reporting from New York

Image source, US Department of Justice

There's a mountain of documents in this release, and that appears to be partly because of Jeffrey Epstein's habit of keeping records.

There are photographs showing the CDs that hold some of the many photographs we've been looking through. There are also photographs showing audio tapes of recordings.

One image from Epstein's New York home showed a voice recorder, and other photos show tapes. Some of the tapes have large black bars over the hand-written descriptions.

There are also images of VHS tapes, which look like they are surveillance tapes from Epstein's home in Palm Beach.

There's a lot of handwritten notes too, some mentioning Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 for her role in facilitating Epstein's crimes.

Image source, US Department of Justice

We're still going through the records, but here's the latest images we can bring you.

The images, which do not imply any wrongdoing, feature former US president Bill Clinton, as well as Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson. It's not known where, when or what context the pictures were taken.

Clinton has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. In 2019, a spokesperson said he knows "nothing about the terrible crimes" Epstein pleaded guilty to.

The BBC has contacted Jagger for comment.

Image source, US Department of Justice

Image source, US Department of Justice

Two of the released images show former US President Bill Clinton in a swimming pool. The images are not dated and it is not clear where they were taken.

In one, he is seen swimming alongside two people. The identity of one of the individuals is redacted with a black square, while the other appears to be Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of Epstein who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.

In the other image, Clinton is lying on his back with his hands behind his head in what appears to be a hot tub. He is seen with another person whose identity has been redacted with a black square.

Clinton was photographed with Epstein several times over the 1990s and early 2000s, before the disgraced financier was first arrested. He has never been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epstein's abuse, and has denied knowledge of his sex offending.

In 2019, a spokesperson said the former president "knows nothing about the terrible crimes" Epstein pleaded guilty to.

The BBC has contacted Clinton's office for comment on the new images.

Image source, Us justice department

Image source, US justice department

Brandon Livesay
Reporting from New York

Image source, US Department of Justice

I'm scrolling through data set 3, which is filled with what appear to be photographs from Epstein's homes.

A vast number of the images I've seen have large black bars over them to protect the identities of the people photographed. The redaction bars are so large on some images that you cannot make out anything at all, like in the photograph frame above.

Other images show Epstein with a woman in a bikini on his knee, and a woman in a bikini beside a pool.

One file contains 50 separate censored images of naked women.

It is unclear if any of these photographs have been shared by US authorities previously, and we don't know the context of when or where these images were taken.

Brandon Livesay
Reporting from New York

Image source, US Department of Justice

There are four folders labelled as "images" in the first data set. The first three folders contain 1,000 images each, and the fourth has 158 images.

The first folder appears to be photographs taken during an FBI search of Epstein's Manhattan home. One image shows black-gloved hands holding up a piece of paper with the address of what was Epstein's primary residence.

One of the photos shows a splintered part of a wooden door, possibly from investigators gaining entry.

Other folders show photographs from a property on a beach. We know Epstein owned Little Saint James, an island in the US Virgin Islands - but I am yet to see any identifying features or signs to confirm these photographs of a beach-side property were taken at Epstein's island.

But there's a lot of photographs to search through. Stick with us.

In a privacy notice at the top of the website where the documents have been released, the US justice department says "all reasonable efforts have been made to review and redact personal information" about victims and other private individuals.

It adds: "That said, because of the volume of information involved, this website may nevertheless contain information that inadvertently includes non-public personally identifiable information or other sensitive content, to include matters of a sexual nature."

These files have been released on a dedicated page of the US Department of Justice website.

Initially, the website was so overwhelmed with traffic that we were put in a queue. After getting to the front of the line, we were met with several document tabs.

One set of files we're examining is labelled "Epstein Files Transparency Act" – that seems like where the bulk of the new information is.

Underneath it are four data sets, each containing thousands of documents. We're parsing through them now.

Image source, US Department of Justice

Brandon Livesay
Reporting from New York

I've been skimming through the first 30 pages of what the justice department has called "data set 1". Each of the pages contains about 40 links to PDFs.

Each PDF I have clicked on so far has been interior photos of a property. It's unclear if all of the photos are from the same property.

Of the photos I've seen, they are fairly mundane. An empty kitchen, a gym, a hallway, a bathroom and a bedroom.

We do not know the context of why these images were taken, when they were taken, or where.

Image source, US Department of Justice

How we're looking through the newly released filespublished at 21:09 GMT 19 December 2025

21:09 GMT 19 December 2025

Our teams are looking through the material that's just dropped.

When it comes to images, the first thing we do is check if they’ve previously appeared online via a reverse image search.

If there are people featured in the images who we don't recognise, we'll use publicly available facial recognition tools, but they aren't always reliable so we might need further corroboration.

We're also combing through the text documents and any video - we'll bring you details as soon as we can.

Iona Hampson
Reporting from Washington DC

An accessible way for the public and journalists to look over and search through the Epstein files was guaranteed but it does mean demand is high and it is challenging to get into the site.

We're reviewing the documents now, and will bring you the latest.

The files just published relate to two criminal investigations into Jeffrey Epstein by the US justice department.

The investigations amassed a trove of documents, including interview transcripts with victims and witnesses, and items confiscated from raids on his various properties.

We're not sure yet whether or not this is the first of multiple batches, but we do know that some files will not be made public, including any relating to active criminal investigations, those which identify victims, or contain images of abuse, death, or injury.

They're separate to other document and photo releases in recent weeks by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.

Image source, Department of justice

The US justice department has just released a tranche of files related to its investigations into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

It's not yet clear whether this is a full or partial release of the files held by the justice department.

We're looking through them now – we'll bring you more as soon as we can.

Image source, Getty Images

The investigations

Jeffrey Epstein reached a plea deal with prosecutors in 2008, after the parents of a 14-year-old girl told police in Florida that Epstein had molested their daughter.

Photos of girls were found throughout the house, and he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor. He escaped a heavy jail sentence as a result of the deal.

Eleven years later, he was charged with running a network of underage girls for sex. He died in prison while awaiting trial and his death was ruled a suicide.

What are 'the Epstein files'?

The files relate to these two criminal investigations, which yielded a vast trove of documents, including transcripts of interviews with victims and witnesses, and items confiscated from raids on his various properties.

Not all the files are expected to be released today.

Why now?

Pressure has been building for months from across the political spectrum for more transparency.

After initially resisting calls for the files' release, Trump reversed course and urged Republicans to support disclosure of the records.

Congress then passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the justice department to release investigative material related to Epstein by today.

It is now past 15:00 ET (20:00 GMT) – which was the time two sources had told the BBC's US partner CBS News that the documents would be made public.

We still don't know when exactly to expect them, but we'll bring you more information as soon as we get it.

Grace Eliza Goodwin
Live reporter

Image source, Bloomberg via Getty Images

For months, many of Epstein's survivors called for the justice department to release its files on the convicted sex offender.

In November, a number of them joined with lawmakers to urge the House to vote in favour of releasing the files. "None of us here signed up for this political warfare," said survivor Wendy Avis. "We are exhausted from surviving the trauma and then surviving the politics that swirl around it."

Several Epstein survivors also appeared in an emotional video asking the public to call their member of Congress to demand the files be released.

In the video, they said they suffered "so much pain" at the hands of Epstein, adding: "It's time to bring the secrets out of the shadows. It's time to shine a light into the darkness."

Some of Epstein's victims have also expressed concerns about what will and will not be included in the release.

Survivor Liz Stein tells CNN "what we really, really want to see is the names of these perpetrators". But she adds that what's "most important" is that survivors' names, and any identifiable information, are redacted

Another survivor, Marina Lacerda, tells the Associated Press that she's worried the files will be doctored to protect those associated with Epstein.

It's a concern shared by other survivors, including Jena-Lisa Jones, who tells AP: “For the rest of my life, I will never truly trust the government because of what they’ve done to us."

Files will likely feed more questions and conspiracy theoriespublished at 19:49 GMT 19 December 2025

19:49 GMT 19 December 2025

Nomia Iqbal
North America correspondent

These are some of the most closely guarded case files by the US government, and have sparked years of conspiracy theories, debates, and arguments over exactly what the powers that be knew about Epstein’s sex trafficking operations.

The ‘Epstein case’ is a byword for government cover ups, elite protection and systemic failure.

The law - passed by Congress last month - will confront years of alleged secrecy by releasing swathes of material related to criminal investigations into Epstein, his indictment, the trial of his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and also details around Epstein's death in jail in 2019.

Many – without evidence – believe the convicted sex offender did not die by suicide.

But what people want, they probably won't get, given the Epstein Files Transparency Act also allows the US Department of Justice to redact information. This, according to the law, would be any records that contain:

• personally identifiable information about Epstein’s victims
• materials depicting child sexual abuse
• materials depicting physical abuse
• any records that “would jeopardize an active federal investigation”
• or any classified documents that must stay secret to protect “national defense or foreign policy”

Attorney General Pam Bondi would however have to give a clear explanation about the redaction and the black-out would be temporary.

For President Trump this is a huge moment with personal and political implications - the case has consumed his administration.

He, along with some very high profile influential online right-wingers, deeply believed there was a vast conspiracy the government was covering up - and that if Trump won the 2024 election, he would blow the lid off it all.

Despite trying to distance himself from his own promise, he was eventually outmanoeuvred by a bipartisan group of lawmakers to sign this law.

We will definitely get something today, with material that investigators themselves couldn’t corroborate. So it's likely the files will just feed more questions and more conspiracy theories.

The justice department says it will meet the "initial deadline" to release the files related to its investigation into Epstein while working "diligently to protect victims".

In response to a Politico article posted on X, a spokesperson refuted suggestions that the Department of Justice won't meet the Friday deadline to release all of the Epstein files.

• For context: Earlier the deputy attorney general said "several hundred thousand documents" will be released today, and "we are going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks"

"The DOJ is releasing a massive tranche of new documents that the Biden and Obama administrations refused to release", they say.

"The story here: the Trump administration is providing levels of transparency that prior administrations never even contemplated. The initial deadline is being met as we work diligently to protect victims."

Sakshi Venkatraman
US reporter

When Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law, a ticking clock started leading up to today - when the Department of Justice (DOJ) is legally required to release all of its files relating to Epstein.

But it looks like that might not happen - with officials saying some files might not be released today. So does that mean the DOJ is violating the law?

According to one legal expert, it's hard to say, especially because the House and Senate are on their holiday recess.

"These are the kinds of practical things that are difficult to enforce when Congress is out of town," says Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond.

If lawmakers were in Washington, they could use their powers to put pressure on the DOJ - including by issuing subpoenas, calling officials like Attorney General Pam Bondi for hearings, and starting inquiries.

Right now, it's hard to know who has the power to do anything, Tobias says.

However, the DOJ could face legal challenges from Epstein's survivors or advocacy groups who want to push for the full release of the files.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see somebody go court," Tobias says. "And maybe a court would agree with them that they needed to hand over the files."

An enforcement mechanism still remains unclear, though.

"They're not gonna get any help from the White House," he adds.

President Donald Trump's supporters attending a Turning Point USA gathering in Phoenix, Arizona are anticipating the release of a trove of documents relating to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Pressure had been building from Trump's own supporters and from voices within the Republican Party for more transparency on what the federal investigations into Epstein uncovered.

After weeks of resisting release, the president reversed course and urged Republicans to vote to open the Epstein files to public scrutiny.

The White House's approach to releasing the files has caused frustration among Trump supporterspublished at 19:18 GMT 19 December 2025

19:18 GMT 19 December 2025

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Donald Trump’s supporters – activists and rank-and-file voters - want the government files on the Jeffrey Epstein investigation to be publicly released. The public polling on this is clear.

That this hasn’t happened yet, despite past promises from the president and many of his top advisers, has been a growing source of frustration – and presents a political threat to the White House.

The Trump administration has offered a grab-bag of often conflicting explanations for its intransigence. It has said that there is nothing in the files, that they contain sensitive information about victims, that it could violate the privacy of innocent people and that the entire Epstein fixation is a Democratic hoax.

This has done little to satisfy the public’s demands – and, in fact, may have heightened curiosity around what those files might contain.

In her Vanity Fair profile published earlier this week, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles explained that newer members of the Trump coalition were “inordinately interested” in the Epstein files.

Keeping those voters in the Republican fold, she said, was a top priority.

Foot-dragging by the White House – and, at times, outright opposition to efforts to mandate releasing the files – has made that task more difficult for a president who is already facing growing public unease with his job performance.