On January 30, 2026, the U.S. Justice Department released 3.5 million documents, with U.S. Deputy Attorney General
Todd Blanche also alleging that these documents were the last remaining documents that had yet to be made public. According to Blanche, the release of these files brought the U.S. Department of Justice in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Unlike previous releases, the Justice Department's webpage for the fifth release cannot be accessed until visitors agree they are at least 18 years old due to the inclusion of pornography within the released files. but was reportedly restored after a period of overload.
Content of files Files unveiled in the January 30 release entail a variety of images, reports, documents, emails, and claims including: •
Anil Ambani - Was in regular contact with Jeffrey Epstein from 2017 to 2019, exchanging texts and emails where Ambani sought Epstein's help to arrange meetings with Trump administration figures like Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon ahead of Indian PM Modi's visits, discussed political and business matters, and received an invitation to Epstein's private Caribbean island. •
Dan Ariely - Email correspondence between Epstein and the Israeli-American professor, who appeared to have maintained a six-year friendship from 2010 to 2016. •
Ehud Barak - Revelations that the Israeli Prime Minister and his wife, Nili Priel, stayed in a New York apartment owned by Epstein on multiple occasions. •
Richard Branson - A 2013 email from Branson to Epstein, reading, "It was really nice seeing you yesterday...Anytime you're in the area would love to see you. As long as you bring your harem!" •
George H.W. Bush - A 2019 FBI document, from a purported male Epstein victim, who accused former Presidents Bush and
Bill Clinton of raping him on a yacht cruise, in 2000 and that current president Donald J. Trump along with his wife
Melania Trump were also present on the yacht. The man also alleged he witnessed babies being dismembered, as well as ritualistic sacrifices. The document includes a note from federal authorities attached to the case, who noted at the time that no evidence was provided by the alleged victim to verify his claim. •
Bill Clinton - An October 2009 email from
Peggy Siegal, stating that Clinton and
Jeff Bezos visited Epstein's house in 2009. •
Bill Gates - Two 2013 emails that Epstein sent to himself, alleging that Gates had "sex with Russian girls" that gave him a
sexually transmitted infection, which required antibiotics to treat. •
Dean Kamen - A 2013 email detailing Kamen's plans to spend a night on Epstein's island. •
Miroslav Lajčák - Emails between Epstein and Lajčák, where the two discussed young women. This led to Lajčák's resignation. •
Ghislaine Maxwell - The public release of Maxwell's 2020 mugshot. •
George J. Mitchell - Email communication between Epstein and Mitchell in 2013. Mitchell had previously been accused having sex with an Epstein victim in 2019. •
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor - A photograph of Mountbatten-Windsor, which appear to show him kneeling over a woman lying on the ground. •
Elon Musk - Email correspondence between Musk and Epstein, including a 2012 email from Musk asking Epstein when the "wildest party on your island" will be. •
Bill Richardson - Richardson met with Epstein at least nine times following the latter's conviction, including one visit to his island. •
Ariane de Rothschild – Reporting based on newly released DOJ “Epstein files” describes extensive email contact between Epstein and Ariane de Rothschild, head of the Edmond de Rothschild Group, including discussions in which Epstein is portrayed as an informal adviser and intermediary during an internal dispute over the “Rothschild” name.
Le Monde reports that a draft agreement dated October 5, 2015, records the Edmond de Rothschild Group agreeing to pay $25 million to Epstein's U.S. Virgin Islands–registered Southern Trust Company for services related to introductions and strategic/tax-risk advice connected to U.S. investigations into Swiss banking practices;
The Wall Street Journal has also reported on a $25 million consulting contract involving de Rothschild and Epstein. •
Steven Sinofsky - Email communication between Epstein and Sinofsky, the latter of whom sought business advice from Epstein. •
Steve Tisch - Email correspondence between Epstein and Tisch, where they discussed introducing women to the latter. •
Brian Vickers - Email correspondence between Epstein and Vickers, dating back to 2012. Vicker's ex-wife,
Sarah Kellen, has previously been accused of having ties to Epstein's sex-trafficking. •
Casey Wasserman - Email correspondence from 2003, between Maxwell and Wasserman. Wasserman wrote to Maxwell, stating how he missed her and wished to see her in a tight leather outfit, while Maxwell offered Wasserman a massage that can "drive a man wild". Wasserman publicly responded to the files' release with regret, apologizing for his association with Maxwell, while distancing himself from Epstein and maintaining his innocence. •
Les Wexner - Documents covering Wexner's attempts to hire a criminal defense attorney, following FBI efforts to serve him a 2019 subpoena due to his ties to Epstein. Additional information revealed in the files include: • In the early 2000s, Epstein donated money to the
Friends of the Israel Defense Forces,
Jewish National Fund, and
National Council of Jewish Women. • Epstein invested $1.5 million into the Israeli company
Carbyne, implied that he believed
Robert Maxwell was assassinated by Israel, and was accused by an anonymous confidential source to the FBI of being a
Mossad agent. • An email from
Microsoft that reveals Epstein was permanently banned from
Xbox Live in December 2013. • An unknown individual, who texted Epstein in June 2014, writing: "I give you permission to kill him. He is apparently with Olga. He lied to you and he lied to me." • A 2011 email from Epstein, revealing plans to help seize
Libya's frozen state assets, estimated by Epstein at $80 billion. Epstein sought the help of British and Israeli intelligence to help seize the funds, in exchange for a "10 percent to 25 percent" compensation fee.
Epstein victims' private information A group of Epstein victims issued a statement criticizing the release's partial failure to redact or hide the names of some victims, writing, "As survivors, we should never be the ones named, scrutinized, and retraumatized while Epstein's enablers continue to benefit from secrecy." A review from
The Wall Street Journal found the names of 43 out of 47 victims in the files left unredacted. The Department of Justice later announced that it removed approximately 9,500 documents which contained victim information; they stated that the files would be restored after additional redactions are made.
Misinformation and rumors Following the release of the Epstein files, misinformation and disinformation related to the files spread on social media. One false rumor included skateboarder
Tony Hawk, after a 2024 email from an FBI agent within the files stated "[Redacted] said that she was there when Prince Edward was there and when Tony Hawk got married on
the island." Hawk disputed this rumor as "a narrative of nonsense", while sharing the four locations he has gotten married.
AI-generated images also spread across social media, including one fictitious image of a young
Zohran Mamdani with Epstein. Another included a fake image of Epstein with
Nigel Farage, which was shared by the
Wrexham Labour Party. Farage responded to the post, stating "I never met Epstein and I didn't go to the island"; while a spokesman for
Reform UK described the post as "vile misinformation and smear". The Labour Party later deleted the post.
Reactions U.S. Representative
Ro Khanna expressed skepticism of Blanche's claim, noting that the U.S. Department of Justice had in fact "identified over 6 million potentially responsive pages." On February 1, 2026, Khanna repeated threats to charge Bondi with
contempt of congress. U.S. President
Donald Trump argued that the final file release "absolves" him of any wrongdoing, despite his name appearing over 3,000 times in the files. British Prime Minister
Keir Starmer suggested that Mountbatten-Windsor should testify before U.S. Congress due to his presence within the files.
Aftermath Congressional access to unredacted files On February 6, 2026, news outlets reported that Assistant Attorney General
Patrick Davis wrote a letter to all 535 members of Congress. Davis stated that beginning February 9, lawmakers would be allowed to view unredacted Epstein files, in a reading room at the Department of Justice. Congressional lawmakers are permitted to take notes on the files, but may not bring electronic devices with them. On February 8, Massie asked users on X to identify important redacted documents that he should view first. On February 9, 2026, Massie and Khanna spoke to the press after their first reviewing of unredacted files at the Department of Justice. The pair criticized Bondi and the Department of Justice, accusing the latter of "breaking the law". On February 10, 2026, Khanna read the names of six men on the House floor, who appeared in the unredacted Epstein files. Khanna said that the six men are "likely incriminated" by their inclusion. By reading the names during a House session, Khanna and Massie are offered some degree of protection against potential defamation lawsuits. The six names included
Leslie Wexner,
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Salvatore Nuara, Zurab Mikeladze, Leonic Leonov, and
Nicola Caputo. On February 13,
Todd Blanche claimed in response to Khanna that the latter named "completely random people" that "have NOTHING to do with Epstein or Maxwell". Blanche stated that only Wexner and bin Sulayem held ties to Epstein, while the other four were an "unmasking of completely random people selected years ago for an FBI lineup- men and women." Khanna subsequently admitted his mistake, while placing blame on the Department of Justice. Khanna stated, "I wish DoJ had provided that explanation earlier instead of redacting then unredacting their names. They have failed to protect survivors, created confusion for innocent men, and have protected rich and powerful abusers." Massie also criticized Blanche, saying "Maybe you should have checked with your folks first, or provided some context, instead of trying to beat my TV appearance and then blaming us." That day, Representative
Jamie Raskin also accused the Department of Justice of a coverup, after viewing some unredacted files. Raskin also claimed "[Trump’s] name, I think I put his name ... it appears more than a million times." On February 10, 2026, Rep.
Suhas Subramanyam gave an interview to
NPR, where he discussed viewing unredacted files. That day, Rep.
Jared Moskowitz described the content of the files as "just gross". Moskowitz also stated that a list of Epstein's co-conspirators "would surprise (the public), because a lot of them were women". That day, House Speaker
Mike Johnson stated that he intended to view unredacted files at a later date, while also defending the Department of Justice. On February 11, 2026, Rep.
Maxwell Frost viewed unredacted documents, after asking
Reddit users to help identify ones of interest. Frost stated that he only "scratched the tip of the iceberg", but that a "lot of these did relate to Donald Trump."
Congressional hearings Following the fifth file release,
Howard Lutnick and
Pam Bondi both testified before U.S. congress. Lutnick was questioned on his ties to Epstein, which he defended as limited. During Bondi's hearing, she faced bipartisan criticism over the Department of Justice's release of the files. Massie described the issue as "bigger than
Watergate". During the hearing, Bondi was also photographed with a document titled "
Jayapal Pramila Search History". Congressional members expressed bipartisan outrage over the incident, accusing Bondi and the Department of Justice of spying on their search history of unredacted Epstein files. Rep. Jayapal described it as "outrageous", while Rep. Raskin called it an "outrageous abuse of power". Rep.
Nancy Mace called the document "disturbing...a form of intimidation, potentially", while House Speaker Johnson described it as inappropriate. The department subsequently acknowledged the incident, stating that the "DOJ logs all searches made on its systems to protect against the release of victim information." On February 13, 2026, House Democrats launched an investigation into the department, over the tracking of congressional file searches.
Section 3 report to Congress On February 14, 2026, Bondi sent a six-page letter to congress, outlining the department's justification for redactions made in the Epstein files (as legally required). In the letter, Bondi also included a list of "all persons...[named] in the files released under the Act at least once...in a wide variety of contexts." The list included both individuals with direct ties to Epstein, as well as individuals mentioned only in passing once.
Bondi subpoena On March 4, 2026, the House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena Bondi to testify about how the Justice Department handled the investigation of Epstein and the release of the files. The subpoena was issued on March 17; she was scheduled to sit for a deposition on April 14. However, Trump announced on April 2 that he had fired Bondi, after which the Justice Department said she would not appear for the deposition. She was rescheduled for a transcribed interview on May 29 instead of a deposition. == Sixth release – March 5, 2026 ==