A significant cache of documents from the US Department of Justice has been made public, shedding new light on the social network of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. The files contain thousands of pages, including photographs that place the pair alongside some of the most prominent figures from the worlds of royalty, politics, and entertainment.
Royal Connections Under Scrutiny
Among the most striking images are several featuring Prince Andrew, formally known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The photographs appear to illustrate how the former senior royal granted Epstein and Maxwell access to the upper echelons of British society. One undated picture shows the Prince, now 65, lying across the laps of five women, with Maxwell smiling beside him. Sky News has reported it believes this image was taken at Sandringham, the royal estate in Norfolk.
A second photograph, believed to be from June 2000, captures Epstein, Maxwell, and the Prince together in the royal box at Ascot. A third, also undated, appears to show the trio on a hunting excursion near Balmoral, the royal family's Scottish retreat. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for child sex trafficking, while Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges.
Political and Celebrity Associations Revealed
The released files also contain images of former US President Bill Clinton. The 79-year-old is pictured in casual settings, including in a hot tub and a swimming pool. Other photos show him posing with Maxwell, and with celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Mick Jagger, and actor Kevin Spacey. Clinton socialised with Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s, before the financier's first arrest in 2008.
Clinton's spokesperson, Angel Ureña, stated the photos were over two decades old and emphasised that the former president cut ties with Epstein once his crimes became known. "There are two types of people here," Ureña said, positioning Clinton in the group who "knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light."
In the UK, the files feature the recently dismissed British ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson. A photo shows the Labour peer, 72, watching as Epstein blows out candles on a birthday cake. Mandelson, who once described Epstein as "my best pal," facilitated a meeting between the financier and then-Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2002. He has since expressed deep regret for maintaining the friendship after Epstein's 2008 conviction for child sex offences.
Celebrity Figures in the Frame
The document release includes photographs of the late singer Michael Jackson posing with Epstein, and another with Clinton and Diana Ross. Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger is pictured with Clinton and an unidentified woman. Actor Kevin Spacey appears in a group shot with Maxwell, Clinton, and others in Winston Churchill's historic war rooms, an image understood to have been taken in 2002.
There is no suggestion that Jackson, Jagger, or Spacey were aware of or involved in Epstein's crimes, and they have not been accused of any wrongdoing by survivors. The purpose of the image release is to illustrate the extensive and high-profile connections cultivated by Epstein and Maxwell over many years.
The trove of documents continues to fuel public and media scrutiny regarding the extent and nature of these relationships, raising persistent questions about what was known by those in Epstein's orbit during his years of criminal activity.
