Thread by @JayShams

I have been reporting on Jeffrey Epstein and the criminal and civil lawsuits surrounding him for several years.

Here is the truth about "The Epstein Files."

🧵

Most of the "Epstein docs" we've seen over the past several years have come out of civil litigation between one of Jeffrey Epstein's accusers, Virginia Giuffre, and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.

It also led to the criminal case against Maxwell, which I explained here: businessinsider.com/virginia-giuff…

The documents have been subject to a protracted sealing and un-redaction process because of privacy rights of victims and third-party figures, as well as the decision of a now-dead federal judge.

It's a big mess.

businessinsider.com/jeffrey-epstei…

We've also seen documents from Epstein's life from litigation from the US Virgin Islands, much of which has been made public following FOIA requests. businessinsider.com/jeffrey-epstei…

And from litigation against banks accused of facilitating sex-trafficking to Epstein. nytimes.com/2023/05/25/bus…

The "flight logs" people have asked about have been public for years.

Business Insider even cleaned up the data, put it in a searchable format, and made infographics!

businessinsider.com/every-flight-m…

The "black book" -- or at least some versions of it -- are also publicly available. We made a nice searchable database of that as well.

businessinsider.com/search-jeffrey…

(Although multiple versions of Epstein's "black book" -- which is really just an address book -- exist. it was a whole big legal issue in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial) businessinsider.com/ghislaine-maxw…

So, what are the "Epstein files" we still don't have?

And does Pam Bondi even have access to them?

I would love it if the Justice Department published records the FBI seized when they arrested Epstein and raided his properties in 2019.

I've filed FOIA requests for those records and have been denied.

Hopefully, @AGPamBondi will make them public.

@AGPamBondi We saw some of these records, and glimpses of others, during bail arguments for Jeffrey Epstein and during Ghislaine Maxwell's trial.

It's clear there was a lot of material!
businessinsider.com/fbi-used-saw-o…

@AGPamBondi Obviously, the Justice Department should make redactions for victim privacy. And that takes time.

But it's already been years.

@AGPamBondi So when we talk about the "Epstein Files" that the Justice Department has in its possession, it's this stuff that comes to mind.

Will Bondi give us new Epstein files? Or will we just see the same already-public material repackaged with a shiny new press release?

I'm cynical. But I hope my cynicism is misplaced.

I should also point out that the "Jeffrey Epstein client list" does not exist and makes no sense on multiple levels (you think he made a list???).

But if Pam Bondi wants to prove me wrong, I welcome it.

businessinsider.com/jeffrey-epstei…

Here is an example of a "third party" whose name was initially redacted in Jeffrey Epstein-related court documents for privacy reasons.
businessinsider.com/donald-trump-d…

It's not just the Justice Department that is keeping Jeffrey Epstein-related files under wraps.

Steve Bannon says he took 15 hours of footage of Epstein.

They spent months together before Epstein's death.

Where's the footage?

businessinsider.com/steve-bannon-f…

As I expected — the New York Post is reporting that the Justice Department will publish old documents that have been public for a decade

More from @jkbjournalist
miamiherald.com/news/politics-…

That's right @RepLuna

It looks like Pam Bondi will instead use the "Epstein Files" vaporware as an excuse to fire a bunch of people from the FBI field office in New York

I'm hearted by the assurance that she'll release the files in New York and I hope that is actually true.

Taking a baseball bat to the MAGA hornet's nest

The idea that Kash Patel and Pam Bondi legitimately believed the "Epstein Files" were only 200 pages is not remotely believable.

The DOJ brought prosecutions against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell years ago. The dockets and public evidence alone run thousands of pages.

The Justice Department obviously collected far more evidence than what was disclosed at trial. Because that's what happens in every criminal case.

They have tens of thousands of pages. They have pictures and probably video. 200 pages is a joke.

Is this what trustworthy, independent media is supposed to look like?

In a press release, Bondi published a PDF of what appears to be an evidence log of some of what the FBI obtained via search warrant in 2019. I don't remember seeing this before.

The files undercut the notion that Pam Bondi and Kash Patel actually believed 200 pages would be everything.

The evidence log describes multiple hard drives, iPads, laptops, etc being obtained.

Obviously there's more than 200 pages of material on there.

Bondi's press release about the Epstein files also says the documents "previously leaked," which is strange.

They were made public through litigation.

Again — this makes no sense.

To Pam Bondi and Kash Patel's credit, the republished old Jeffrey Epstein flight records don't omit Donald Trump's flights on the plane.

Here's a couple of flights in 1994 where Trump flew on Epstein's plane with Marla Maples and Tiffany.

The binder-wielding influencers are frustrated with how Pam Bondi handled today, per @RaheemKassam
thenationalpulse.com/analysis-post/…