The latest release of documents connected to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation has reignited controversy after the U.S. Department of Justice cautioned that some of the material contains false and unverified claims involving former President Donald Trump.
In a public statement issued Tuesday, the Department of Justice said the newly released files include what it described as “untrue and sensationalist allegations” that were submitted to the FBI ahead of the 2020 election. The department emphasized that the claims lacked credibility and were never substantiated.
“To be clear, these allegations are unfounded,” the DOJ said, adding that if they had carried any weight, they would have been pursued years ago. Officials said the documents were made public as part of the department’s obligation to transparency under federal law.
Among the released material was an internal email dated January 7, 2020, from a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. The email alleged that Trump had flown on Epstein’s private jet multiple times during the 1990s, sometimes alongside Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. The prosecutor noted that some passengers on those flights were described as possible witnesses in later legal proceedings involving Maxwell.
The email stated the information was shared so that it would not “come as a surprise later,” though it remains unclear whether any of the claims were verified or used in the prosecutions related to Epstein or Maxwell. Trump has repeatedly said he severed ties with Epstein well before Epstein was charged with sex crimes.
The document release also referenced various tips the FBI received in the early 2000s regarding Trump’s alleged connections to Epstein. Authorities have not disclosed whether those tips were corroborated or formally investigated.
In addition, one document included a letter Epstein appeared to have written to former physician Larry Nassar, referencing Trump in crude language. The authenticity of the letter has not been confirmed, and the FBI requested a handwriting analysis to determine its origin.
The DOJ has been publishing tens of thousands of pages related to Epstein and Maxwell on a public website in response to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law passed last month requiring the release of unclassified records within 30 days. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on federal sex-trafficking charges, while Epstein died by suicide in jail in 2019, according to authorities.
The document rollout has drawn criticism over heavy redactions and missed deadlines. The law allows the DOJ to withhold information that could identify victims or interfere with ongoing investigations, though it explicitly prohibits redacting details solely to protect politically powerful individuals.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the department’s approach in a recent television interview, saying established legal standards justified delays and redactions to protect victims’ identities. The DOJ has said additional files are expected to be released in the coming weeks.
As scrutiny intensifies, the disclosure has once again placed the Epstein case at the center of political and legal debate — with lingering questions about what information remains hidden and how the public should interpret unverified claims buried within thousands of pages of records.