The Address Book

3 Sep 2025

Survivors first

On 3 September 2025 survivors of Jeffrey Epstein stood at the Capitol and asked Congress to open the Justice Department’s files. “This is not a hoax. It’s not going to go away,” said Marina Lacerda, a central witness in his 2019 indictment. This story starts from their questions and asks one narrow question of its own: which public figures dealt with Epstein, on a record anyone can open, what does each say, and what has it cost them? It does not ask who is guilty. Courts decide that.

14 Feb 2026

A name proves nothing

Epstein’s contact book held about 1,000 names and numbers. His former house manager was caught trying to sell a copy for $50,000, and it was published in 2015. The house manager said Epstein’s staff compiled it, and people listed told the New York Times they had never met him. On 14 February 2026 the Justice Department sent Congress a list of more than 300 officials and “politically exposed persons” named in its files, in a “wide variety of contexts.” A name is a mention, not a finding. This story’s test is a payment, a job, a meeting or a flight in a record, or the person’s own words.

7 Jul 2025

The government’s answer

Asked on Fox on 21 February 2025 about “the list of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients,” Bondi said it was “sitting on my desk”; she and the White House later said she meant the files. On 27 February her “Phase 1” binders held mostly material already public. In July the Justice Department and FBI memo found no incriminating “client list” and no credible evidence that Epstein “blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.” It said Epstein harmed over one thousand victims, and that “no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.” That line started the fight over the files. The 2007 agreement covered four people it named and “any potential co-conspirators”; AP wrote that prosecutors charged no one else but Maxwell. The memo does not say nobody dealt with him. An agency’s finding is not proof that nothing exists.

2002

Donald Trump

In 2002 he told New York Magazine: “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy.” He added: “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” That was before the 2005 report to Florida police and the 2008 conviction. PolitiFact says they socialized and flew on Epstein’s jet; AP reported a 2020 prosecutor’s note that he flew more than was known. In 2019 he said he was “not a fan”; in July 2025, that Epstein “stole people that worked for me.” AP wrote in January 2026 that no survivor who has gone public accuses him of wrongdoing; he said he had no knowledge Epstein abused minors.

31 Oct 2026

A letter and a suit

In July 2025 the Wall Street Journal reported a sexually suggestive letter and drawing that it said bore Trump’s name, in a 2003 album for Epstein’s 50th birthday. Trump denied writing it. In September House Democrats released the album; NPR wrote that a page “appears to bear Trump’s signature,” and the White House called it “FAKE NEWS.” Trump called the Journal’s story “false, malicious, and defamatory” and sued it and Rupert Murdoch for $10 billion. On 31 October 2026 Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed the suit with prejudice: the complaint “falls short of pleading actual malice.” That is a ruling on pleading, not on who wrote the letter. The White House did not immediately react.

27 Feb 2026

Bill Clinton

In a sworn declaration Clinton said Epstein offered his plane to him, his staff and his Secret Service detail for Clinton Foundation work in 2002 and 2003. He says he never visited the island and “had long stopped associating with” Epstein by the 2008 plea. Chairman Comer claims evidence of 27 flights and 17 White House visits; those counts are his. The Clintons first refused a subpoena and relented under threat of a contempt vote; on 27 February 2026 Clinton became the first former president compelled to testify to Congress. He said: “I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong.” Democrats asked that Trump testify too; Comer said Trump has answered press questions. AP wrote in January 2026 that no survivor who has gone public accuses him of wrongdoing; he said he had no knowledge Epstein abused minors.

2010

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

He met Epstein in 1999. After Epstein’s 2008 conviction he stayed at Epstein’s home, and in 2010 he was photographed with him in New York’s Central Park. He told the BBC in 2019 that this was “definitely the wrong thing to do,” though he felt at the time it was “the honourable and right thing to do.” Virginia Giuffre sued him in 2021, saying he abused her. He had told the BBC: “It didn’t happen.” In February 2022 they settled for an undisclosed sum. The statement says he “regrets his association with Epstein” and accepts she suffered “as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks”; it does not say he admitted her claim. Giuffre died in April 2025.

22 May 2026

Arrest, and where it stands

On 19 February 2026 Thames Valley Police arrested him on suspicion of misconduct in public office. AP reports he is suspected of improperly passing U.K. government information to Epstein; police had been assessing reports that he sent trade reports in 2010, when he was Britain’s special envoy for international trade. An arrest is not a charge or a finding. On 22 May AP wrote that police “sought to broaden their investigation into potential offenses by the former Prince Andrew, including sexual misconduct”; police said the offence “can take different forms.” He has always strenuously denied any wrongdoing. AP wrote on 30 October that he was released on police bail pending further investigation; no charge is reported.

30 Oct 2026

What it has cost

On 30 October 2025 the King began removing his brother’s style, titles and honours; the palace said he “continues to deny the allegations.” On 8 October 2026 Thames Valley Police said the court’s decision to issue its search warrants under the legislation used was incorrect and the warrants must be quashed. It said legal proceedings continue over the seized material, and its investigation continues. On 30 October Police Scotland said it was making separate enquiries into his and Epstein’s time at the king’s Balmoral estate, at a “very early stage,” and gave no detail of the offences. He denies wrongdoing.

23 Feb 2026

Peter Mandelson

Bank documents suggest Epstein sent three payments totaling $75,000 in 2003 and 2004 to accounts linked to Mandelson or his partner; Mandelson called the claim “false,” with “no record or recollection.” Emails in the January 2026 release appeared to suggest he gave Epstein market-sensitive government information in 2009 and 2010, and the government told police they held “likely market-sensitive information.” Starmer fired him as ambassador in September 2025; he left Labour and the Lords in February. Police arrested him on 23 February on suspicion of misconduct in public office and bailed him. AP: “He does not face allegations of sexual misconduct.” LBC reported on 21 August that he “has never been charged and has denied any wrongdoing,” and that dropping the case had become more likely.

17 Nov 2025

Larry Summers

In November 2025 a House committee released more than 20,000 Epstein emails. They showed that Summers, Harvard’s president from 2001 to 2006, stayed in touch with Epstein until 2019, long after Epstein’s 2008 conviction. He apologized, went on leave, and left OpenAI’s board. In December the American Economic Association banned him for life. Harvard opened a review of its people named in the files, and in February 2026 said he would retire at the end of the school year. ABC News wrote that no survivor has alleged wrongdoing by Summers and no public record suggests he was involved in Epstein’s crimes. The latest report read on Harvard’s review is from February 2026.

6 May 2026

Howard Lutnick

Lutnick, now Commerce Secretary, said in 2025 he had been “never in the room” with Epstein after 2005. In February 2026 he told senators he had lunch on Epstein’s island in December 2012. CBS reported that both signed a contract on 28 December 2012 for stakes in an advertising company, and CNN that Lutnick emailed Epstein about it in 2018; Lutnick said he did not know Epstein was an investor. At a voluntary House Oversight interview on 6 May he said of three meetings: “Each and every one was meaningless and inconsequential.” Chairman Comer called his account “forthcoming”; Democrats called it evasive. NBC: he “has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.” The latest report read on him is CNN’s of 13 May.

23 Jul 2025

The judges

In July 2025 the Justice Department asked judges to unseal grand jury records at Trump’s request. A Florida judge said her “hands are tied”; in August a New York judge wrote that an observer might see the request as “aimed not at full disclosure but at the illusion of such.” On 23 July the Wall Street Journal reported that Bondi told Trump in May his name “is among many in the Epstein files.” Bondi and Blanche said they “made the President aware of the findings,” and that nothing in the files warranted further investigation. Trump said: “She’s given us just a very quick briefing.” Communications director Steven Cheung called the report “a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media.” A name in a file is a mention, not a finding.

3 Sep 2025

The petition

Massie, a Republican, and Khanna, a Democrat, introduced the bill in July 2025. At the Capitol on 3 September, survivors asked Congress to pass it. ABC reported that House Republican leadership and the White House opposed it and that Speaker Mike Johnson urged Republicans not to sign. Johnson said the petition “does not adequately protect the innocent victims” and called it “a raw and obvious political exercise.” It reached 218 only when Rep. Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat, was sworn in after the shutdown; AP said Johnson had kept the House closed for nearly two months and refused to swear her in.

18 Nov 2025

The vote

On 16 November Trump wrote that Republicans should vote to release the files because “we have nothing to hide.” On 18 November Johnson held the vote under a procedure that needed two-thirds. He said: “None of us want to go on record and in any way be accused of not being for maximum transparency.” The House voted 427 to 1. The one no, Rep. Clay Higgins, said he worried the bill could lead to the release of information on innocent people mentioned in the investigation. The Senate agreed hours later without a roll call.

427 to 1The House vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, 18 November 2025

19 Nov 2025

The law

Trump signed the Act on 19 November 2025. It told the Attorney General to release, within 30 days, all unclassified Justice Department records on Epstein and Maxwell, including flight logs and decisions to charge or not charge. It allowed withholding of victims’ personal data, child sexual abuse material, material that would harm an active case, images of death or injury, and properly classified material, each redaction with a written justification. Section 3 also required a list of officials and politically exposed persons named in the files.

30 Jan 2026

A missed deadline

The Justice Department released part of its files on 19 December 2025. On Christmas Eve it said prosecutors and the FBI had found “over a million more documents.” On 8 January 2026 Khanna and Massie asked a judge for a special master, saying the department was “openly defying the law.” On 30 January it released about 3 million more pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, and Deputy Attorney General Blanche said the review was at its end. A group of Epstein accusers said: “As survivors, we should never be the ones named, scrutinized, and retraumatized while Epstein’s enablers continue to benefit from secrecy.” Blanche called mistakes “inevitable” and denied that the department was there to protect Trump: “That was never the case.”

About 3.5 million pagesReleased under the Act by 30 January 2026, by Deputy Attorney General Blanche’s count

2 Apr 2026

Redactions, and an ouster

On 9 February Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, viewed the unredacted files and said the department both failed to hide survivors’ names and redacted people who were not victims. On 14 February the department wrote that no record was withheld “on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.” On 2 April Trump said Bondi was out. AP tied it to months of scrutiny of the department’s handling of the files and to her struggle to win prosecutions of Trump’s rivals. Republican Rep. Nancy Mace said Bondi “handled the Epstein Files in a terrible manner.” Blanche, once Trump’s defense lawyer, became acting Attorney General and was sworn in as Attorney General on 10 August after a narrow Senate vote.

25 Jun 2026

The courts

In April 2026 the journalist Katie Phang sued over the redactions. On 25 June Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered the department to release unredacted versions of several files or explain why it could not, and to produce the redaction log the law requires. He wrote that Blanche “conceded Ms. Phang’s merits arguments” by not responding. A Justice Department spokesperson replied: “The Acting Attorney General has not conceded anything,” and said it “will appeal this decision with confidence.” IBTimes UK, an outlet this story otherwise does not rely on, reports a notice of appeal on 24 August and, on 28 October, an unsigned D.C. Circuit order refusing to pause a review of foreign-language records.

About halfOf the roughly 6 million pages the Justice Department collected, by its own account, would be released

16 Sep 2026

What is still unknown

In the reports read, no court or inquiry has found that anyone on these cards took part in Epstein’s crimes. PolitiFact wrote that the Biden administration “did not publicly release any files” from the investigations, though judges unsealed court records, and that Democrats “appeared to dial back” their calls; Merrick Garland wrote that he recalled no update on the case. What the department did with the files from 2021 to 2025 is not shown. Roll Call reported on 16 September that the second bill’s petition was still short of 218; Massie called the cut schedule an “attempt to stymie” it, which Roll Call said Johnson had brushed off. Not read: Bondi’s testimony to the committee, the House Judiciary Democrats’ report of 26 October, the department’s 2026 review of whether reports were improperly withheld, any step after those dates.