What we know about the Epstein files amid Trump and Musk spat

The so-called Epstein Files have hit the headlines again, amid a public spat between billionaire businessman Elon Musk and president Donald Trump.

The pair’s disagreement over a tax and spending bill (referred to by Trump as the “big beautiful bill”) descended into an exchange of barbs on social media – with Musk suggesting Trump would not have won the election without him.

The billionaire also posted a tweet to X suggesting without proof that Trump was named in unreleased FBI files linked to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who over the years groomed numerous women and children that he and his associates sexually abused.

A huge tranche of files related to the Epstein case was released in January 2024, in which Trump’s name was mentioned – although there was no suggestion of wrongdoing from Trump. Additionally, Trump has always said he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.

Trump was in Epstein’s social circle. In a 2002 article, he made light of Epstein’s penchant for young girls, telling New York magazine: “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it, Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”

In February this year, US attorney general Pam Bondi oversaw the release of further documents relating to Epstein on the Department of Justice website. Beforehand, they had been branded “pretty sick” by Bondi, who told Fox News she hoped to release a “lot of flight logs, a lot of names, a lot of information” on the convicted paedophile.

But the documents contained no major new claims about Epstein, who died in 2019, or his associates, and Bondi accused the FBI of withholding information.

The release, which saw a handful of hand-picked influencers leave the White House clutching binders marked “The Epstein Files: Phase 1”, was not well received by Trump’s MAGA support base.

Representative Anna Paulina Luna, who leads a House Republican task force on federal materials, tweeted her anger too, saying: “This is not what we or the American people asked for and a complete disappointment.”

Read more: FBI accused of withholding Epstein files (The Telegraph)

What was Jeffrey Epstein accused and convicted of?

Epstein was an American financier who became influential in New York and wider high society in the early 2000s.

He cultivated an elite social circle and often flew high-profile people to his Caribbean private island.

However, Epstein had a dark side unknown to the wider world.

Over a period of years, he groomed many women and children that he and his associates sexually abused.

Epstein was initially arrested in 2005 after a parent accused him of sexually abusing their 14-year-old daughter.

In 2008 under a non-prosecution agreement, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in Florida of solicitation of prostitution involving a minor and another similar prostitution charge.

That allowed him to avoid federal prosecution and a possible life sentence, instead serving 13 months in a work-release program. He was required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender.

The plea deal was controversial at the time, with even the judge of the trial and the head of Palm Beach police criticising its leniency.

Alexander Acosta, who approved the plea deal at the time, resigned in 2019 as Trump’s Labor Secretary when Epstein was arrested again, due to the renewed criticism of the deal.

In 2019 federal prosecutors in New York charged Epstein with sex trafficking and conspiracy after investigative reporting by The Miami Herald stirred outrage over the 2008 plea bargain.

They accused him of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls.

At the time of Epstein’s arrest, prosecutors said they found a trove of pictures of nude and semi-nude young women and girls at his Manhattan mansion. A conviction could have put him in prison for 45 years.

However, he never stood trial after he was found dead in his cell in August 2019 aged 66.

His death sparked an outcry across the world and fuelled conspiracy theories.

In 2021 Maxwell was convicted of five counts, including sex trafficking a minor. Many of the crimes she was convicted of were related to her association with Epstein.

What we’ve learned about the Epstein files

Numerous files related to the Epstein case have already been released.

A huge tranche of them were made public in January 2024, although a lot of the information in them was already known to the public.

The plan to release the documents had prompted rumours that they contained a list of “clients” or “co-conspirators,” and misinformation about their contents continues to be present on social media.

The people named in the records include many of Epstein’s accusers, members of his staff who told their stories to tabloid newspapers, people who served as witnesses at Maxwell’s trial, people who were mentioned in passing during depositions but aren’t accused of anything salacious, and people who investigated Epstein, including prosecutors, a journalist and a police detective.

There are also names of public figures known to have associated with Epstein over the years, but whose relationships with him have already been well documented elsewhere, the judge said.

The Duke of York features heavily in the documents, as well as former president Clinton.

Both have acknowledged being an associate of Epstein’s but strenuously denied ever being aware of any wrongdoings.

Other names included Michael Jackson, Stephen Hawking and US magician David Copperfield.

In one of the documents, Epstein indicated to Maxwell via en email that Hawking had participated in an underage orgy. There is no accusation of any wrongdoing by Prof Hawking, who died in March 2018 unable to respond to the claims made against him.

Jackson was mentioned in an interview with one of Epstein’s victims but they said they only met the famous singer at one of Epstein’s houses and did not accuse him of any wrongdoing.

Another document said Copperfield asked the victim if she was “aware that girls were getting paid to find other girls” and that he performed magic tricks over dinner at one of Epstein’s properties.

Copperfield has said he “never” associated with Epstein personally and denied any wrongdoing.

Links between Epstein and Prince Andrew

For years the Duke of York was reported to be close to Epstein and Maxwell, and this association led to his fall from public life.

The duke, who has strenuously denied any wrongdoing, was accused in 2014 by Virginia Giuffre of sexually abusing her when she was 17 – a minor under US law – having been trafficked by Epstein.

After intense media and public scrutiny, Prince Andrew agreed to do a Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis where he defended his previous actions and repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

The now infamous interview was viewed as a publicity disaster for the Duke and he stepped away from public life soon after.

In March 2022, Andrew paid an undisclosed out-of-court settlement to his accuser, whom he claimed to have never met, while accepting no liability. Giuffre died by suicide in April this year.

Some of the documents released in January 2024, included a motion by two women who said they had sex with Andrew in London, New York and on Epstein’s private island.