Epstein Files Released: Emails Show Ties With Powerful Figures, New Details On Death

A newly released cache of documents linked to disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sheds fresh light on his communications with some of the world’s most powerful and wealthy figures, as well as new details surrounding his incarceration and death, according to Associated Press.

The US Justice Department on Friday disclosed that it is releasing more than three million pages of records, alongside thousands of videos and photographs, under a law passed by Congress. By Friday evening, over 600,000 documents had been made public online. Millions more files identified by prosecutors as potentially subject to disclosure remain sealed, a delay that has drawn criticism from Democratic lawmakers. A team of Associated Press reporters is now reviewing the material.

According to Associated Press, the documents reveal that Epstein exchanged hundreds of friendly text messages with Steve Bannon, a close adviser to then president Donald Trump, in the months before Epstein’s death in 2019. Their conversations ranged across politics, travel and a documentary Bannon was said to be planning that would help rehabilitate Epstein’s public image.

In March 2019, Bannon asked Epstein whether he could use his private plane to be picked up in Rome. A few months later, Epstein sent Bannon a message saying: “Now you can understand why trump wakes up in the middle of the night sweating when he hears you and I are friends.” The documents do not make clear the context of the remark, and many of the files are heavily redacted and poorly organised.

Another exchange from 2018 focused on Trump’s threats at the time to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whom he had appointed the previous year. Around the same period, Epstein also communicated with Kathy Ruemmler, a lawyer and former Obama White House official. In an email containing several typographical errors, Epstein warned Democrats against portraying Trump as a Mafia-style figure, while also describing the president as a “maniac”.

Bannon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AP. Ruemmler, speaking through a spokesperson, said she had a professional association with Epstein during her time in private legal practice and now “regrets ever knowing him,” AP reported.

The records also include emails between Epstein and billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk from 2012 and 2013 discussing a possible visit to Epstein’s private island, which later became the subject of multiple sexual abuse allegations. Epstein asked how many people Musk would want transported by helicopter, and Musk replied that it would likely be only himself and his partner at the time. “What day/night will be the wildest party on =our island?” Epstein wrote, according to Justice Department records cited by Associated Press.

It remains unclear whether any such visit occurred. Spokespeople for Tesla and X did not respond to requests for comment on Friday. Musk has previously said he rejected Epstein’s invitations, writing on X in 2025: “Epstein tried to get me to go to his island and I REFUSED.”

Epstein also extended an invitation to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to visit the island in December 2012. According to the documents, Lutnick’s wife accepted enthusiastically and said they would arrive by yacht with their children. The two men also met for drinks in 2011, and later exchanged emails in 2018 about construction work near their homes. Lutnick has since distanced himself from Epstein, calling him “gross” and stating in 2025 that he severed ties decades ago. He did not respond to an emailed request for comment on Friday afternoon, AP reported.

Beyond Epstein’s relationships, the newly released material contains additional information about his detention and death. Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019 and was found dead in his jail cell just over a month later.

According to Associated Press, emails between investigators included in the release discuss Epstein’s final communications, with one investigator noting that his last message did not resemble a suicide note. Multiple official investigations have concluded that Epstein died by suicide.

The records also describe how jail staff attempted to mislead members of the media gathered outside the facility when Epstein’s body was removed. Boxes and sheets were arranged to resemble a body and placed in a white van marked as belonging to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Reporters followed that vehicle as it left the jail, unaware that Epstein’s actual body had been transported separately in a black vehicle that departed “unnoticed”, according to interview notes reviewed by AP.

(With inputs from Associated Press)