America
New Epstein documents reveal expanded travel with Trump and allegations of institutional failures
New documents released regarding Jeffrey Epstein include a report of a woman alleging she was raped by US President Benjamin Trump.
The latest release from the Department of Justice concerning the Epstein files sheds light on the FBI’s 2019 investigation into additional suspects who may have assisted Epstein or been involved in his sex trafficking crimes.
The new documents, released Tuesday, contain the names of 10 potential accomplices or suspects that New York prosecutors planned to question in 2019. Three of these suspects are Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, French modeling scout Jean-Luc Brunel, and the billionaire former owner of Victoria’s Secret, Leslie Wexner, who was once a client of Epstein.
Other names were redacted without explanation. Files released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act state that only certain names can be redacted, specifically those of Epstein’s victims.
The Department of Justice has 15 days to explain the exceptions they used to justify the redactions.
Trump flew with Epstein more than previously known between 1993 and 1996
The approximately 10,000 newly released files contain many references to President Trump. Among these is a January 2020 note from an assistant US attorney, revealing that Trump was on many more flights between 1993 and 1996 than the Department of Justice previously knew.
On one flight, there were three passengers: Trump, Epstein, and a 20-year-old woman; on two other flights, the prosecutor noted that Trump was on the plane with two women who could have been potential witnesses in the criminal case they were building against Maxwell at the time.
Trump has repeatedly denied any involvement in Epstein’s crimes. In 2024, he stated on the social media platform Truth Social that he was “never on Epstein’s plane or ‘stupid’ island.”
In a statement on Tuesday, the Department of Justice noted that a series of documents concerning the president were “untrue and sensational claims” made against Trump ahead of the 2020 election.
Harsh criticism of the Department of Justice “redaction” system
Emails and correspondence regarding Epstein’s 2007 deal in South Florida were also heavily redacted. With few exceptions, the names of all prosecutors were blacked out, making it nearly impossible to understand how his non-prosecution agreement developed, why it was kept secret, and how Epstein obtained federal immunity.
At that time, Epstein was accused of sexually assaulting approximately 40 underage girls at his mansion in Palm Beach. Previously released documents show that the Department of Justice possessed not only victim statements but also supporting evidence such as phone records, text messages, witness testimony, and bank deposit records showing payments made to the girls.
Three documents released in the past were also heavily redacted, including some photographs of older men. However, the names of many of Epstein’s victims appear on the pages, sometimes dozens of times, which led victims to accuse the department of violating the law and attempting to intimidate them; some have demanded the resignations of US Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.
A series of tips also came into the FBI and the department’s tip line regarding this case. On Tuesday, the department was forced to admit that these tips were completely fake: a letter appearing to be written by Epstein to former US Olympic Gymnastics coach and convicted rapist Larry Nassar spread rapidly online. The Department of Justice eventually had to examine this letter and announced that handwriting analysis revealed Epstein did not write it.
Epstein’s younger brother: They killed my brother with Trump’s approval
Records also show that Epstein’s younger brother, Mark Epstein, submitted a report to the FBI in 2023 claiming his brother was killed in his prison cell because he was “going to name names.”
Reached by phone on Tuesday, Mark Epstein said the FBI never followed up on the matter. The 71-year-old Epstein has long believed his brother was murdered and claims in his report that Trump “approved” this murder.
When asked why he believes Trump was involved in the incident, he asked, “The question is: who would be in a position to organize this and ensure the Department of Justice covers it up?”
Epstein was found hanging in his Manhattan prison cell on August 10, 2019, one month after being arrested in New York on sex trafficking charges. The New York City medical examiner ruled his death a suicide, but investigations revealed that his prison cell was never properly examined as a potential crime scene.
All but one of the video cameras in Epstein’s cell were recording at the time of death, and some of those recordings went missing.
Many of Epstein’s victims do not believe he committed suicide. Many told the Miami Herald that they feared their lives would be in danger if they spoke publicly about their abusers.
Bannon and former Victoria’s Secret owner Wexner also in the documents
An FBI investigator in the Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Unit noted on July 9, 2019, that three accomplices in the Epstein case were in Florida, one was in Boston, one was in New York, and one was in Connecticut.
He also noted that one of them was a wealthy businessman living in Ohio, later identified in documents as Wexner. For many years, Epstein managed the financial affairs of Ohio billionaire Les Wexner. The 88-year-old Wexner has always denied any involvement in the sex trafficking leader’s crimes.
Epstein used his relationship with Victoria’s Secret to find victims, promising many of them that he could make them the next Victoria’s Secret model. The files contain an undated statement from a woman identified as “Jane Doe” describing an encounter with Epstein:
“At that moment, I ran back to the door and figured out how to get out of there. A girl outside asked me where I was going and told me to be careful. She said Mr. Epstein knew many powerful people, including Bill Clinton, and that if I didn’t do what he wanted, I would never find work in this industry. I was so scared I couldn’t wait to get out of there… I had spent all my savings to buy Victoria’s Secret underwear because I thought it was an audition, but instead, it felt like a casting for prostitution. I felt like I was in hell.”
One of the emails released by the Department of Justice mentions a photograph of Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell taken together, found on a mobile phone belonging to Republican political strategist and “MAGA” ideologue Steve Bannon. The photograph itself is blacked out, and it is unclear when it was taken.
Woman alleging rape spoke to police
Among the documents released overnight is a strange FBI report where names are redacted. The report describes a tip the agency received from a limousine driver. The driver claims he heard Trump talking about “Jeffrey” and also spoke with a woman who alleged she had been raped by Trump.
It is unknown whether the FBI investigated this tip or dismissed it as fake, but the person who reported it to the FBI followed the woman, and she told him she had reported the rape to the “police.”
So far, there is nothing in the documents showing that Trump committed any crime, and the files do not indicate that he is under investigation.
In 2007, Epstein made a deal with federal prosecutors in South Florida that allowed him to plead guilty to two state prostitution charges (one involving a minor) and serve 13 months in the Palm Beach County Jail.
Allowed to leave prison regularly, Epstein continued to work in a nearby office and continued to abuse girls.
Epstein’s victims, whose numbers the department estimates at around 1,000 women, have long demanded more accountability for his powerful friends and accomplices, as well as more transparency from the department that kept them in the dark about the 2007 deal that allowed Epstein to escape heavy punishment for sexually abusing girls in South Florida.
Clinton requested the release of all documents
The files the department initially released on Friday did not satisfy the victims or the members of Congress who ordered the release, especially after the Department of Justice removed some files, including a photograph of Trump, after publication. This photograph and several others were later reposted online.
The files released Friday included numerous photographs of former president Bill Clinton. Many of these photographs were taken from a 2002 trip Clinton and Epstein took to Africa on Epstein’s plane.
On Monday, a spokesperson for Clinton asked the Department of Justice to release all files mentioning Clinton’s name, stating that the files released so far suggest “someone or something is being protected.”
Prince Andrew may not have been interrogated despite US requests
According to another document in the latest batch of Epstein files, federal prosecutors—armed with evidence that Prince Andrew had “sexual relations” with one of Epstein’s victims—threatened to force the British royal to speak with investigators under oath.
Department of Justice officials asked British authorities in the spring of 2020 to conduct a “mandatory interview” with the Prince if he refused to answer questions voluntarily as part of the department’s investigation.
Prosecutors also revealed the existence of evidence that Andrew was “present” during “certain” interactions between the victim, Epstein, and Maxwell, and evidence that the prince knew Maxwell “recruited women to engage in sexual relations with Epstein and other men.”
Prosecutors also wrote that they had “evidence that Prince Andrew engaged in sexual relations with one of Epstein’s victims.”
Epstein’s UK flights under scrutiny
The BBC revealed that approximately 90 flights linked to Jeffrey Epstein landed at or took off from UK airports, with some flights carrying British women who claim they were abused by the billionaire.
Following this, the BBC contacted the Metropolitan Police in October to ask if they would launch a comprehensive investigation into potential human trafficking by Epstein and his accomplices within, around, and outside the UK.
A document released by the US Department of Justice includes an email from a senior Metropolitan Police officer asking the FBI attaché in London if there was “still an ongoing investigation” regarding the BBC’s questions about Epstein’s flights to the UK.
In a statement released earlier this month, the Metropolitan Police Service stated that it had “not received any additional evidence that would support the reopening of the investigation” into the human trafficking activities of Epstein and Maxwell in the UK.
“If new and relevant information is brought to our attention, including that obtained from materials released in the US, we will consider it,” the Metropolitan Police Service said.
Amazon was slow to assist in the investigation
Just days before Epstein’s suicide in prison in 2019, the Department of Justice threatened to ask a judge to charge Amazon with contempt of court after the company failed to provide documents related to the investigation into the scandal-plagued financier.
An unidentified investigator wrote in an August 1 email to the company, “Amazon’s response to the attached grand jury subpoena is several weeks late.”
“The FBI has emailed and left messages for your legal department several times in recent weeks but has received no response. Please respond immediately to address Amazon’s non-compliance. Otherwise, we will file a contempt of court motion for failure to comply with valid legal process.”
It is unclear exactly which records the Department of Justice requested from Amazon; the subpoena was not accessible in the latest group of documents. However, it appeared to be related to email correspondence of individuals linked to the Epstein investigation.
A day later, it appeared that Amazon had hastily prepared a response to the subpoena, but the Department of Justice found this response to be highly inadequate.
Summers appointed as an alternate executor in his will
According to another document, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers was at one point appointed as a backup executor in Jeffrey Epstein’s will.
In the 2014 version of Epstein’s will, Summers was named as a “successor executor” to manage the convicted sex offender’s estate after his death if any of the other three appointed executors were “not qualified or unable to serve.”
According to the document, each executor was entitled to receive $250,000 upon completion of the will. Epstein died in 2019, and Summers was not named as an executor in the final version of his will.
Fake passport linked to Saudi Arabia
In the most recently released files, Epstein is seen to have an Austrian passport registered under the name “Marius Robert Fortelni.” The New York Post reported that this name belonged to a real estate developer who once lived in New York and later moved to Palm Beach, Florida.
The passport/document lists the individual’s date of birth as July 30, 1954, and place of birth as Vienna. Epstein was born in the US in 1953.
The passport, issued on May 21, 1984, lists the place of residence as Saudi Arabia and the nationality as Austrian.
The Saudi connection is particularly significant because Adnan Khashoggi, who was involved in organizing the Afghan jihad and the Iran-Contra scandal, and Ghislaine Maxwell’s father, Robert Maxwell, operated in the dark connections of international finance.
Epstein’s lawyers addressed the issue of the fake passport years ago. In a 2019 court filing cited by NBC, the offender’s legal team claimed the document was designed not for routine travel but as a “security measure.”
Arguing that the document was designed to be shown only in extreme cases while traveling in dangerous areas, Epstein’s lawyers wrote, “The passport was for personal protection in case of travel to dangerous areas,” adding that the passport would only be shown to “potential kidnappers, pirates, or terrorists in the event of violent incidents.”
Photographs released by the department show that the passport contained travel stamps from countries such as France, Spain, and the UK between 1982 and 1983. The document also includes a stamp from the Saudi Arabian consulate in Vienna granting a two-month entry permit.
More than 700 wealthy foreign nationals have applied for New Zealand residency under the country’s “golden visa” programme over the past 14 months, compared with just 115 applications during the previous three years.
Applicants are required to invest at least NZ$5 million in local funds, companies or charitable organisations within three years.
A further 127 people have applied under a separate programme that requires an investment of NZ$10 million in passive assets such as bonds for five years.
The surge followed a relaxation of rules governing property purchases, investment requirements and the amount of time applicants must spend in the country to qualify.
According to the Financial Times (FT), the increase in applications for the right to live, work and study indefinitely in New Zealand has coincided with a period of geopolitical uncertainty that has made the country’s security and remote location increasingly attractive.
Dozens of countries around the world, from Portugal to the US, offer preferential immigration treatment in exchange for investment or, in some cases, cash payments.
Many have had mixed experiences with such schemes. Ireland, Malta and Australia have scrapped their programmes because of insufficient demand or concerns over abuse.
In New Zealand’s case, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon hopes the visas will attract more foreign investment and help reverse a “brain drain” that threatens the country’s economic growth.
Although tourists often fall in love with New Zealand and dream of moving there, many young New Zealanders leave in search of better economic opportunities.
According to Luxon, New Zealand start-ups have already begun benefiting from the policy.
“While everyone else around the world is tightening restrictions, we’ve opened the doors and our start-ups have benefited enormously from the capital flowing in, as well as from the knowledge and technical expertise these investors have brought,” he said.
Since the programme was comprehensively overhauled in April 2025, applicants from North America, Europe and Asia have committed a combined NZ$4.8 billion, through investments of either NZ$5 million or NZ$10 million each.
That figure is comparable to the NZ$14.8 billion in foreign investment recorded during the first quarter of this year.
Lachlan Nixon, co-founder of venture capital firm Motion Capital, said the programme had become “a badge of honour in Silicon Valley”.
Data show that 277 applications have come from Americans, with Californians showing particularly strong interest in obtaining New Zealand residency.
“A massive influx of capital is coming, but what really matters is the quality of the people now investing in the New Zealand economy,” Nixon said. He added that 40% of a recent NZ$27 million fundraising round for high-growth New Zealand companies came from 30 holders of “golden visas”.
According to Luxon, companies benefiting from the programme include critical minerals firm Zethos, which appointed European steel industry veteran Francesc Rubiralta to its board.
Nixon said other companies backed under the programme include seed oil protein producer Miruku and magnesium mining company Aspiring Materials.
In the mountain town of Queenstown, a preferred destination for many applicants, locals refer to billionaires such as Peter Thiel and Anthony Malkin, whose foundation owns New York’s Empire State Building, as “the secret residents on the hills”.
Most prefer to keep their wealth and presence private. Thiel’s citizenship was inadvertently revealed during a parliamentary debate, while Malkin’s presence became public after fireworks he set off on New Year’s Eve sparked grass fires.
According to Cotality, their arrival has made Queenstown New Zealand’s most expensive property market, with a median home price of NZ$1.8 million, double the national average.
Under the visa programme’s rules, participants may purchase only residential properties worth more than NZ$5 million, a provision designed to prevent their presence from distorting the broader housing market.
“There are a lot of billionaires here. They just wear gumboots,” one property adviser said.
However, doubts remain about the programme’s benefits. Sam Stubbs, chief executive of pension fund Simplicity, said people should make “genuine investments” in the country rather than seek special treatment in exchange for “a small amount of money” invested in a venture capital fund.
“Heaven comes at a price. It’s a price we all pay,” Stubbs said.
Some applicants have also voiced concerns. Courtney Andelman, who runs a venture capital fund in Santa Barbara with her husband Jim, successfully obtained a visa last year and now visits New Zealand regularly.
“There’s something magical in the air and the water. It’s an incredibly healthy place,” Andelman said.
However, she said she wanted to settle in a smaller South Island city such as Nelson, where her investments could have a greater impact, but found very few properties worth more than NZ$5 million.
She also complained that under New Zealand’s tax rules, if her family spends more than 183 days a year in the country, their worldwide income becomes subject to New Zealand taxation.
Andelman said she loved New Zealand but expressed concern and issued an implicit warning.
“How to make every dollar achieve its highest and best use is a question we constantly ask ourselves. If New Zealand doesn’t offer the best value, we’ll go somewhere else. Every one of those dollars is mobile.”
Oil industry executives and White House officials are engaging in a new push to prevent any move by the administration to restrict US oil exports.
According to a report by Politico, industry representatives say these efforts extend to the White House Domestic Policy Council, the National Energy Dominance Council, the Department of Energy, and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Trump believes that oil prices could harm the Republicans’ chances of maintaining control of Congress in the November mid-term elections.
“Everyone from the industry and within the administration is working hand in hand to prevent this,” an energy industry executive said.
The individual added that White House officials had not formally raised the idea, “but everyone knows Trump will act like Trump again.”
The White House maintains that export restrictions are not on the agenda.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement: “While the President and the entire energy team are taking various measures to mitigate temporary disruptions in the energy market, the administration has been very clear: there is no plan to impose restrictions on oil and gas exports.”
White House representatives did not confirm whether industry lobbyists had approached specific agencies or officials to discuss the export issue. Department of Energy representatives did not respond to queries.
However, although administration officials have guaranteed since the early days of the Iranian war that an export ban was off the table, Trump’s directive to the Department of Justice in June to investigate oil companies on charges of price gouging put the sector on high alert.
Concerns within the industry mounted after Trump stated on Monday that oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron were making “too much money.”
Industry executives now fear Trump may try to make a move against them by restricting fuel export activities abroad, which have boomed since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Another industry official said the sector had reiterated its concerns regarding export controls to the White House “very recently.”
The Trump administration has already tried several different approaches to lower prices that enjoy broader support from the oil industry.
These include the release of millions of barrels of oil from the country’s strategic petroleum reserve and the temporary suspension of the Jones Act to make it easier for non-American vessels to transport oil and natural gas between US ports.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former oil company CEO, and Vice President JD Vance have repeatedly opposed the idea of limiting or banning exports.
Wright stated in May that the administration had “definitely” ruled out the option of banning diesel exports.
Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, said he was “confident” Trump understood the need to maintain oil exports, recalling that early in the crisis, the president had encouraged other countries to buy American oil:
“The administration has repeatedly expressed that they are opposed to [export controls]. Therefore, I do not think there is any change in their stance at the moment. Frankly, it feels as though we have to clarify this issue every three weeks.”
In a note sent to clients on Tuesday, consultancy firm ClearView Energy stated that the moment for the White House to take a step toward limiting fuel exports “might be approaching.”
The firm noted that former President Joe Biden had considered imposing export restrictions ahead of the 2022 mid-term elections following a “long summer of high petrol prices” caused by the war in Ukraine.
US crude oil exports increased by approximately 30% compared with last year, reaching nearly 3.5 million barrels per day by the end of July.
Shipments of refined products such as diesel, petrol, and other types of oil rose by 20%, exceeding 8 million barrels per day.
Opponents of exports argue that sending these cargoes abroad leads to rising prices domestically.
However, the oil and gas industry contends that closing the door to exports would harm the domestic market and cause their production to decline.
“Export bans may seem politically attractive, but ultimately they will lead to the exact opposite of the intended effect,” said a refining industry lobbyist who noted they were in contact with the White House on the matter, arguing that cutting off American exports from international markets would mean “a decline in US production, supply shortages, further upward pressure on domestic prices, and even greater disruptions in the global market.”
Chet Thompson, president and CEO of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, stated that export controls would force US refiners to produce less petrol because they would lose commercial channels to ship other surplus fuels, such as diesel, produced during the process.
Three US senators have reported that intelligence sharing between Washington and Kyiv has reached its former level. The White House declined to disclose details of the current intelligence relationship, emphasizing that President Donald Trump remains focused on ending the conflict.
American senators reported that intelligence sharing between the US and Ukraine has returned to its previous level.
According to a report by Politico, the senators offering this assessment include Democratic Senator Mark Warner, a long-standing advocate for increasing aid to Ukraine.
Commenting on the matter, Warner said: “I don’t want to get into details, but things have improved.” Republican senators John Cornyn and Roger Wicker stated that information sharing has accelerated during a period of “strategic importance”.
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine also noted that he has observed signs of a revival in information sharing between the US and Ukraine.
The White House did not disclose details regarding the current state of its intelligence-sharing relationship with Ukraine. However, in comments to Politico, it emphasized that US President Donald Trump is focused on contributing to the termination of the conflict.
A White House official told Politico: “The President and his team remain committed to playing a constructive role in ending the war between Russia and Ukraine and remain optimistic that we will ultimately reach a peace agreement.”
Last autumn, the Financial Times reported that Trump had issued instructions to prepare for sharing intelligence data that could assist Ukraine in conducting strikes deep inside Russian territory.
Russian authorities are demanding that Western nations cease providing military aid to Ukraine, emphasizing that such assistance will not prevent Moscow from achieving its military campaign objectives.
Last year, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested that the US side clarify information regarding the transfer of intelligence data to Ukraine.
According to statements from the Kremlin, Russia has long been aware that the US and NATO countries collect intelligence and transfer it to the Ukrainian military, noting that this is “not a new development”.
Nevertheless, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia will not tolerate attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and will continue to respond forcefully.
In June, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia is prepared to conduct negotiations with Ukraine on the basis of the agreements reached in Istanbul.
According to Putin, the parties must also take into account the agreements reached between Moscow and Washington in Anchorage, the situation on the front line, and the conditions for a settlement previously set out by Russia.
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