Unanswered questions from Epstein files after documents appear highly redacted

The release of the notorious Epstein files has begun, providing new insight into the lives of the convicted sex offender and his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell – but bringing as many questions as they do answers

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For anyone hoping for a simple smoking gun to be found in the Epstein files, things are looking a lot more complicated. Thousands of photographs and documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein have been released by the US Justice Department, but they present as many questions as answers. The document dump has been heavily redacted, which they say was with the aim of protecting the anonymity of the sex offender’s victims, but some lawmakers have already criticised the release.

Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said the release was just a ‘fraction” of what exists, and claimed that a lot appears to be “missing”. He said that what has been made public so far seems to “protect certain political people” while highlighting “certain political enemies”.

This is only the first tranche of files to be released, with many more to come – and one expert has told the Mirror that the truth about Epstein, his alleged sex trafficking network, and high-profile associates, “will just drip, drip for ages”. Public figures like Sarah Ferguson, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, Michael Jackson, and Bill Clinton have all appeared in photographs that have been released. The photographs don’t show any wrongdoing and simply being pictured or named in these files is not proof of any wrongdoing.

READ MORE: Mystery letter warning Jeffrey Epstein to ‘watch out’ found in newly released documentsREAD MORE: Former Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson appears in multiple Epstein files photos

The House Committee have stressed that names appear in different contexts, ranging from general social contact to specific business discussions.

The Mirror has taken a look at all the questions we still do not have answers to, despite the thousands of documents already released.

Who else was involved – why aren’t they named?

Anyone expecting some kind of master list of associates that Epstein and Maxwell might have trafficked their victims to will be disappointed. Whilst high-profile figures are littered throughout the photographs of the former couple’s lavish life together, which sees them on yachts and travelling to glitzy locations, they appear in a mosaic of contexts – from being subjects of media chatter to having attended the same events, or appearing in diary planning notes, correspondence or press discussions.

Many former assistants and staff’s names have been redacted from much of the Grand Jury testimony that has been released overnight – for some, this might be because they cooperated with the investigations, any allegations made against them are unproven, or they are not thought to be guilty of any particular wrongdoing. However, it is fundamentally unclear why, with no reason given explicitly by the Justice Department beyond the protection of victims themselves why so many names have been redacted.

It is clear that Epstein and Maxwell moved within high-profile circles, with A-list faces to be found in their many photographs. However, it is still not established who knew what was going on, or when.

What is next for Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and Sarah Ferguson?

Controversy over Andrew and Sarah’s ties to the convicted sex offender has reached a fever pitch in the last few months. Leaked emails, the posthumous memoir from Andrew’s accuser, Virginia Giuffre, and a bombshell biography by Andrew Lownie about the former couple have all increased outcry about their friendship with Epstein.

So much so that King Charles stripped his disgraced younger brother of all his royal titles and styles, and the former couple will be moving out of their lavish long-term home, Royal Lodge. Both were pictured in the new document dump, though this is not proof of wrongdoing. Andrew is one of the only high-profile third parties explicitly accused of sexual assault from one of Epstein’s victims, which he vehemently and consistently denies.

However, Andrew Lownie does not think the former prince is out of the woods yet. “I think more stories will emerge,” Lownie tells the Mirror, adding: “I’ve got my paperback coming out in May, I’ve got a lot of new information in that, which I’m afraid doesn’t present any of them in a positive light.

“I think there will be more Epstein revelations, more legal depositions unsealed, more victims coming forward, this thing will just drip, drip for ages, which is why I think the Royal Family need to distance themselves.”

What was Ghislaine Maxwell’s part in this?

Disgraced socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, 60, is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. She was convicted in 2021 and was moved to a minimum security prison in Texas in August after she was interviewed by Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche about her connections with Epstein.

She has tried to appeal her conviction multiple times, with the US Supreme Court moving in October that they would not hear her appeal. However, she claims “substantial new evidence” has emerged from civil cases since her conviction, and has asked the federal courts to vacate or alter her long sentence.

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Grand Jury testimony included in the first tranche of documents saw an FBI agent testify that during their investigation, another staff member of Epstein’s claimed that the financier changed significantly when Maxwell came on the scene.

The staff member alleged that “Epstein was more pleasant to work with prior to Maxwell coming into the picture” and that “things became more secretive” once she and Epstein became romantically involved, and that the staffer was no longer allowed to “make eye contact with Epstein and others.”

Maxwell has been found in a court of law to be guilty of sex trafficking – but with Epstein dead, and the socialite maintaining her innocence, it is still impossible to know the full picture of where all the responsibility lies.

How long have the authorities known about Epstein?

Grand jury testimony released in the first tranche of files indicates that the FBI had been investigating claims about the former couple’s “conduct with minors” since the 1990s. A complaint made by one of Epstein’s survivors, Maria Farmer, was included in the document dump, dated 1996.

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The criminal complaint accused Epstein of child pornography, alleging that he stole photographs from Maria, an artist, who had taken images of her underage sisters, then 12 and 16, for her “personal art work”.

“Epstein stole the photographs and negatives and is believed to have sold the pictures to potential buyers,” the complaint reads, continuing, “Epstein is now threatening [redacted] that if she tells anyone about the photos he will burn her house down.” Maria’s lawyer confirmed she had made the complaint, and the survivor said she felt vindicated by the document’s inclusion in the release, but also that the authorities had “failed” the young girls targeted by Epstein.

“Just to see it in writing and to know that they had this document this entire time – and how many people were harmed after that date? We’ve been saying it over and over, but to see it in black and white that way has been very emotional.”

In Maxwell’s 2021 trial, a woman identified as Kate testified that the socialite had approached her in 1994, offering help with her music career, and pushed her to provide Epstein massages and recruit other girls.

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It is estimated by the FBI that Epstein abused more than 1000 girls and young women, some as young as 12. However, it was not until 2005 when a woman reported to Palm Beach police that Epstein had paid her step-daughter for a naked massage that authorities uncovered further victims officially.

The financier pleaded guilty to minor prostitution charges that saw him become a convicted sex offender, but in return, an FBI investigation was called off and “any potential co-conspirators” given immunity. He served an 18-month sentence from 2008.

Can anyone be held accountable?

When Jeffrey Epstein died in his prison cell by apparent suicide in 2019, criminal proceedings against him naturally could not continue, bringing his victims’ hunt for accountability against him to a screeching halt. Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for her part in the sex trafficking network, but without Epstein here to answer for his alleged crimes, part of the puzzle will always be incomplete.

Proving that any of his associates, high profile or otherwise, were complicit in his sex trafficking ring, or how much they knew about it before his conviction for sex crimes against a minor in 2008 is difficult, particularly without any first-hand witnesses.

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Virginia Giuffre, who had publicly alleged she had been “passed around” by Epstein to his high-profile pals, including Andrew, which is denied, died by suicide earlier this year. She was one of the only survivors to name any other parties, but was not included in Maxwell’s criminal trial.

Another man she claimed she was trafficked to was lawyer Alan Dershowitz, but she later retracted this allegation, and said she “may have made a mistake in identifying” him. She added that her years as an Epstein victim when she was very young were a “very stressful and traumatic environment”.

For his part, Dershowitz had always denied Giuffre’s claims, but said he was “gratified” she acknowledged her mistake and said, “At the time she accused me she believed what she said. Ms Giuffre is to be commended for her courage…she has suffered much at the hands of Jeffrey Esptein, and I commend her work combatting the evil of sex trafficking.”