Summary

  • The US justice department has released some of the Epstein files, but with heavy redactions. Thousands more are expected - here's what we've learned so far

  • The redactions have been criticised by Democrats, who say they violate the transparency law. But the justice department says it has "erred on the side of redacting to protect victims" - what's been withheld and why?

  • The department says omissions were required to protect victims and continuing investigations - but survivors have expressed frustration, writes BBC World Service's Bernadette Kehoe

  • Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Richard Branson are among the famous faces in the files - who has been pictured?

  • The files shed little light on Epstein's network but intensify scrutiny of the Trump administration's handling of the affair, writes North America correspondent Peter Bowes

  • Being named or pictured in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing. Many of those identified in other releases have denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein

Live Reporting

Edited by Rorey Bosotti

  1. Trump and justice department under fire over potential file release delay

    Some US lawmakers say Trump and the justice department would be breaking the law - a law that the president himself approved - if it fails to release all the files by the deadline at the end of the day.

    “Donald Trump and the Department of Justice are now violating federal law as they continue covering up the facts and the evidence about Jeffrey Epstein's decades-long, billion-dollar, international sex trafficking ring," Representative Robert Garcia of the House Oversight Committee and Representative Jamie Raskin of the House Judiciary Committee say in a joint statement.

    Garcia and Raskin accuse Attorney General Pam Bondi of denying Epstein survivors the transparency and accountability they deserve.

    "The Department of Justice is now making clear it intends to defy Congress itself, even as it gives star treatment to Epstein's convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell," the lawmakers' statement continues.

    The lawmakers say they are now looking into "all legal options in the face of this violation of federal law".

  2. All files must be released today, Democratic leaders say

    Sakshi Venkatraman
    US reporter

    Chuck SchumerReuters

    Democratic leaders in Congress say all the Epstein files must be released by today.

    "The Trump administration had 30 days to release ALL the Epstein files, not just some. Failing to do so is breaking the law," Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer says in a statement.

    He says Democratic senators are currently working with lawyers for Epstein's victims as well as outside counsel to determine what is being released today, and what he claims is being "covered up" by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

    "This is nothing more than a cover up to protect Donald Trump from his ugly past," Schumer says.

    Ro Khanna, a Democratic Congressman who led the bipartisan effort to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, echoes those sentiments, saying the justice department has had months to prepare for this.

    "If the DOJ is producing real documents of interest that are not overly redacted, and if they are clear about a timeline for full production then that is a positive step," he says. "They ultimately must release all of it."

    He also calls on the justice department to offer a full timeline for the release today.

  3. Hundreds of thousands of files to be released in coming weeks, deputy attorney general says

    US Deputy Attorney General Todd BlancheJim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images

    US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says he expects "we're going to release several hundred thousand [Epstein] documents today".

    He tells Fox News: "Those documents will come in all different forms — photographs and other materials."

    Blanche says Trump has said "for years" that he wants "full transparency" and for the Department of Justice to release everything they can.

    The deputy attorney general continues: "We are looking at every single piece of paper that we are going to produce, making sure that every victim, their name, their identity, their story to the extent it needs to be protected, is completely protected.

    "I expect we are going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks… I expect several hundred thousand more.”

  4. Justice department set to release 'several hundred thousand' files on Epstein investigation

    Rorey Bosotti
    Live page editor

    U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photograph taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' sex offender registryReuters

    Thirty days after Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is now legally required to release all of its files on late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

    Tens of thousands of pages of evidence from federal investigations into Epstein have already been released - the latest batch of 68 photographs was published only yesterday by Democratic lawmakers.

    But today we're likely to get access to a lot more documents relating to two DOJ criminal investigations into Jeffrey Epstein.

    US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says he expects the department to "release several hundred thousand" files - including "photographs and other materials".

    However, he's already warned that it may only be a partial release of files today - with it staggered over the coming weeks to ensure the identity of Epstein's victims are "completely protected".

    The DOJ has until midnight tonight, but two sources tell the BBC's US partner CBS News the documents will be made public at 15:00 ET (20:00 GMT).

    Our teams in London and Washington are primed to search through the documents when they're released - bringing you insight into their content, as well as analysis and reaction. Stick with us.