In September 1996, nearly a decade before Jeffrey Epstein was first arrested, a professional artist made a criminal complaint to the Federal Bureau of Investigation that accused the financier of being involved in “child pornography.”
Epstein survivor Maria Farmer has insisted in the years since, as the late sex offender has faced accusations of abusing hundreds of underage girls and young women, that she contacted law enforcement about Epstein in 1996, but officials failed to take steps to address her report.
The Department of Justice’s initial—and incomplete—release of government files related to Epstein offered no major new revelations about his crimes or others involved in them. But it did confirm that law enforcement received that early warning from Farmer, making public for the first time a description of the September 1996 complaint. Though the name of the complainant is redacted in the document, Farmer’s lawyer has confirmed it was made by her.
Also among the thousands of pages of documents and images released by the DOJ on Friday and Saturday are photographs of a number of prominent people, ranging from political figures such as former President Bill Clinton and Peter Mandelson, the former U.K. ambassador to the United States, to celebrities including Michael Jackson and Diana Ross.
Read more: How the Victims of Jeffrey Epstein Beat Washington at Its Own Game
The partial release has drawn outcry from a number of Epstein’s victims and the congressional lawsuits that pushed for the full files to be made public. But Farmer, now in her fifties, feels “redeemed,” she said in a statement through her attorneys on Friday.
“This is one of the best days of my life,” Farmer said. “I’m crying for two reasons. I want everyone to know that I am shedding tears of joy for myself, but also tears of sorrow for all the other victims that the FBI failed.”
Here’s what to know about what’s in the files the DOJ has released, and what isn’t.
The report made to the FBI about Epstein in 1996
A handwritten description of Farmer’s complaint, dated Sept. 3, 1996, was among the documents released Friday. It states that a professional artist told the FBI that Epstein stole photos she had taken of her 16- and 12-year old sisters for her personal artwork and, she believed, sold them to “potential buyers.” It also alleges that Epstein requested that she “take pictures of young girls at swimming pools” at one time, and that he was now threatening “that if she tells anyone about the photos, he will burn her house down.”
At the top of the page, the “character of the case” is described as “child pornography.” Farmer stated in a lawsuit filed earlier this year that nude and partially nude images were among the photos of her younger sisters she said Epstein stole.
Farmer alleged in the lawsuit that in late July or August 1996, Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell sexually assaulted her and that she later discovered they had taken the photos of her sisters during their visit. She said she reported Epstein and Maxwell to law enforcement weeks later, first contacting the New York Police Department and then the FBI, telling the agency that Epstein and Maxwell had sexually abused her, were together running a child trafficking ring, and that they possessed and were producing child pornography.
But despite Farmer’s report that Epstein had stolen and transported nude images of her sisters across state lines; despite her mention of a “modeling book” including child pornography kept in a safe at the financier’s New York mansion; and despite her sharing that she believed Epstein and Maxwell’s were continuing to abuse children, she said, the FBI agent on the line hung up on her mid-sentence and never followed up.
“Had the government done their job, and properly investigated Maria’s report, over 1000 victims could have been spared and 30 years of trauma avoided,” Jennifer Freeman, a lawyer for Farmer, wrote in an email to The Guardian. “After several years of asking for her records, the gov[ernment] finally released at least some of them today.”
A 2020 internal investigation into the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein case made no reference to Farmer’s 1996 complaint. In an interview with the Times, Farmer discussed her mixed emotions surrounding it surfacing now. “I’ve waited 30 years,” she said. “I can’t believe it. They can’t call me a liar anymore.”
While vindicated, however, she expressed her frustration with the FBI’s apparent failure to respond to the report. She said she did not hear from the FBI for a decade after she made the complaint, until a broader investigation led to Epstein’s 2008 plea deal in Florida, and that she had lived in fear after trying to report him.
“They should be ashamed,” Farmer said, adding, “They harmed all of these little girls. That part devastates me.”
According to Farmer, the complaint only captured part of her concerns, and she also urged investigators to examine Epstein’s connections, including to Maxwell and figures such as former President Bill Clinton and President Donald Trump. The document included in the released files does not mention Maxwell or other powerful people tied to Epstein.
Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images
New photographs showing high-profile figures
Newly released photographs from the Justice Department drops include shots of Clinton; musicians Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross; actor Kevin Spacey; comedian Chris Tucker; and journalist Walter Cronkite, adding on to other previously released files connected to the case that have shown a number of well-known figures with ties to Epstein. The images do not appear to show any illegal activity, and none of the individuals have been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
The photos in the release also feature Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, and Peter Mandelson, the former U.K. ambassador to the United States.
The former Prince’s titles were stripped away, and he was booted out of his royal residence this fall as his ties to Epstein drew renewed attention following the posthumous publication of Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre’s memoir, in which she alleged Andrew forced her into sexual encounters as a teen, claims he has repeatedly denied.
Mandelson, meanwhile, was fired as the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the United States in September of this year after emails surfaced that showed Mandelson continuing communication with Epstein after the financier was convicted in 2008 in Florida. Following his removal from office, in a letter to embassy staff, he called the post the “privilege” of his life and said he felt “utterly awful” about his association with the convicted sex offender.
The Justice Department appeared to try to highlight Clinton in the release, with two agency spokespeople posting images of the former President posing with victims on social media.
In the images released Friday, Clinton appears in a swimming pool with Maxwell and a person whose face is blacked out, and in a hot tub with another individual who is partially redacted. Clinton has said he regretted socializing with Epstein and was unaware of any criminal activity.
Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, Angel Urena, said in a statement following the release that the Administration was attempting to “shield themselves” from scrutiny. “They can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton,” Urena wrote on X.
Last month, Trump said he would direct the Justice Department to investigate Epstein’s ties to Clinton, as well as other figures and institutions, an action critics said was intended to shift focus away from his own connections to the financier.
Heavy redactions
Of the thousands of documents released by the DOJ on Friday, at least 550 pages are fully redacted, CBS News reported.
One set of three consecutive documents, totaling 255 pages, is fully redacted, with each page blacked out. A separate 119-page document labeled “Grand Jury–NY” is also entirely redacted. At least 180 additional pages appear in files that are mostly but not entirely redacted, with cover pages, folder photos, or other unredacted material followed by pages fully obscured by black boxes.
Read more: Survivors and Lawmakers Criticize the Trump Administration Over Incomplete Epstein Files Release: ‘What Are They Hiding?’
The redactions were pointed to by several lawmakers who criticized the DOJ for withholding materials with its initial release. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California—who co-authored The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which compelled the department to make files related to Epstein, Maxwell, and other figures connected to their cases public—said on Friday: “Our law requires them to explain redactions. There is not a single explanation.”
Justice Department—Anadolu/Getty Images
Few mentions of Trump
Numerous outlets have noted that Trump is rarely mentioned in the heavily redacted documents released by the DOJ.
The lack of references to the President is noticeable, as his name and images had appeared in multiple previous releases of material connected with Epstein. For instance, flight manifests from Epstein’s private plane, included in a February batch of DOJ documents, listed Trump as a passenger. His relative absence in the newly released files also marks a notable contrast with former President Clinton, who appears repeatedly.
Trump has confronted mounting controversy this year over his years-long relationship with Epstein and his handling of the Epstein files, whose release he long pushed back against before he reversed himself and urged Republicans to support the Epstein Files Transparency Act last month. He has drawn widespread backlash on the issue, even among members of his own party, with just 44% of Republicans approving of his approach to the Epstein files, according to a November Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Farmer told the Times that once in 1995, while she was working for Epstein, she saw Trump at the late sex offender’s offices in Manhattan. She said she was wearing running shorts when Trump entered the office and hovered over her, staring at her legs, which scared her. Epstein then entered and told him, “No, no. She’s not here for you,” she remembered.
After they left the room, Farmer said she heard Trump comment that he thought she was 16. The White House denied her account in July this year, contesting that the President was “never in his office.”
Trump has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and has denied having any prior knowledge of the disgraced financier’s crimes.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee noted in a post on X on Saturday that a photo from the newly released files that did appear to show Trump appeared to have since been “removed.”
“And if they’re taking this down, just imagine how much more they’re trying to hide…” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote in a separate post. “This could be one of the biggest cover ups in American history.”
The photo was among at least 16 files that have apparently disappeared from the DOJ’s webpage for the releases, The Associated Press reported. The Trump Administration has not given any explanation for their removal.
