Under intense scrutiny from Congress, Attorney General Pam Bondi unexpectedly told lawmakers that the Justice Department still has pending investigations related to its larger probe of Jeffrey Epstein. The latest release of documents related to the Justice Department’s decades-long investigation into the disgraced financier and sex offender have revealed the most to date about Epstein as well as the investigations into his activities. They paint a complicated picture that sometimes doesn’t align with many of the publicly common theories about the case.
Here are the biggest developments from the most recent batch of documents released by the Justice Department under the law passed by Congress last year:
FBI concluded Epstein did not run a trafficking ring for powerful people
Contrary to the complex conspiracy theories that swirl around Epstein’s life, arrest, and suicide, the FBI concluded after years of investigation and the seizure of evidence — which included bank records, emails and proof he abused underage girls — from Epstein’s properties, there was still scant evidence that he ran a sex-trafficking ring for the rich and powerful.
In photos and videos found at Epstein’s homes in New York, Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands, some included nude images of females, some of whom appeared to be minors. Images of commercial child sex abuse material that Epstein obtained online were also found, Just the News previously reported.
However, last year, then-Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey wrote an email to FBI officials summarizing the probe and said there were no photos or videos showing victims being sexually abused. Additionally, no evidence implicated anyone other than Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, she said.
Had the evidence existed, the government “would have pursued any leads they generated,” Comey wrote. “We did not, however, locate any such videos.”
The rich and powerful nevertheless rubbed elbows with Epstein
Despite finding little evidence he ran a sex-trafficking ring, investigators collected reams of evidence on Epstein’s contacts with the richest and powerful men in America and around the world. Two of the most influential men are Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates
Howard Lutnick
