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A timeline of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, now 20 years old

A timeline of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, now 20 years old

Interest in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation has exploded over the past month even as President Donald Trump urged the public and media to move on from a saga he sees as ' pretty boring.'
Conspiracy theories and outrage have swirled around Epstein since 2006, when the financier first faced criminal charges related to sexual exploitation of underage girls. He killed himself after more charges were brought in 2019. Fascination with the case reached new heights after Attorney General Pam Bondi suggested she had an Epstein 'client list' on her desk but then didn't release documents with any new information.
Here is a timeline of the criminal cases against Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for helping him abuse teenage girls.
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March 2005: Police in Palm Beach, Florida, begin investigating Epstein after the family of a 14-year-old girl reports she was molested at his mansion. Multiple underage girls, many of them high school students, would later tell police Epstein hired them to give sexual massages.
May 2006: Palm Beach police officials sign paperwork to charge Epstein with multiple counts of unlawful sex with a minor, but the county's top prosecutor, State Attorney Barry Krischer, takes the unusual step of sending the case to a grand jury.
July 2006: Epstein is arrested after a grand jury indicts him on a single count of soliciting prostitution. The relatively minor charge draws almost immediate attention from critics, including Palm Beach police leaders, who assail Krischer publicly and accuse him of giving Epstein special treatment. The FBI begins an investigation.
2007: Federal prosecutors prepare an indictment against Epstein. But for a year, the money manager's lawyers engage in talks with the U.S. attorney in Miami, Alexander Acosta, about a plea bargain that would allow Epstein to avoid a federal prosecution. Epstein's lawyers decry his accusers as unreliable witnesses.
June 2008: Epstein pleads guilty to state charges: one count of solicitating prostitution and one count of soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18. He is sentenced to 18 months in jail. Under a secret arrangement, the U.S. attorney's office agrees not to prosecute Epstein for federal crimes. Epstein serves most of his sentence in a work-release program that allows him to leave jail during the day to go to his office, then return at night.
July 2009: Epstein is released from jail. For the next decade, multiple women who say they are Epstein's victims wage a legal fight to get his federal non-prosecution agreement voided, and hold him and others liable for the abuse. One of Epstein's accusers, Virginia Giuffre, says in her lawsuits that, starting when she was 17, Epstein and his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, set up sexual encounters with royalty, politicians, academicians, businessmen and other rich and powerful men, including Britain's Prince Andrew. All of those men deny the allegations.
November 2018: The Miami Herald revisits the handling of Epstein's case in a series of stories focusing partly on the role of Acosta — who by this point is President Donald Trump's labor secretary — in arranging his unusual plea deal. The coverage renews public interest in the case.
July 6, 2019: Epstein is arrested on federal sex trafficking charges after federal prosecutors in New York conclude they aren't bound by the terms of the earlier non-prosecution deal. Days later, Acosta resigns as labor secretary amid public outrage over his role in the initial investigation.
Aug. 10, 2019: Guards find Epstein dead in his cell at a federal jail in New York City. Investigators conclude he killed himself.
July 2, 2020: Federal prosecutors in New York charge Ghislaine Maxwell with sex crimes, saying she helped recruit the underage girls that Epstein sexually abused and sometimes participated in the abuse herself.
Dec. 30, 2021: After a monthlong trial, a jury convicts Maxwell of multiple charges, including sex trafficking, conspiracy and transportation of a minor for illegal sexual activity.
June 28, 2022: Maxwell is sentenced to 20 years in prison.
January 2024: Public interest in the Epstein case surges after a judge unseals thousands of pages of court records in a civil lawsuit involving one of his victims. Almost all of the information was already public and the dayslong document dump proves disappointing to people who hoped it would spill new secrets about wrongdoing by the rich and powerful. But it fuels demands for even more records to be made public.
2024: Trump, who was in office when Epstein was arrested, suggests during the presidential campaign that he'd seek to open the government's Epstein files.
February 2025: Attorney General Pam Bondi suggests in a Fox News Channel interview that an Epstein 'client list' is sitting on her desk. The Justice Department distributes binders marked 'declassified' to far-right influencers at the White House, but it quickly becomes clear much of the information had long been in the public domain.
July 7, 2025: The Justice Department says Epstein didn't maintain a 'client list' and it won't make any more files related to his sex trafficking investigation public.
July 17, 2025: The Wall Street Journal describes a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper says bore Trump's name and was included in a 2003 album for Epstein's 50th birthday. Trump denies writing the letter, calling it 'false, malicious, and defamatory.' The next day Trump sues the paper and media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
July 18, 2025: The Trump administration asks a federal court to unseal grand jury transcripts related to Epstein's case in an effort to put a political crisis to rest.
July 23, 2025: A judge rejects a Trump administration request to unseal transcripts from the Epstein grand jury investigation in Florida but similar requests for grand jury transcripts in the cases against Epstein and Maxwell in New York remain pending. Meanwhile, a House Oversight subcommittee voted to subpoena the Justice Department for files. The full committee issued a subpoena for Maxwell to testify before committee officials in August.
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Resurfaced clip shows Epstein pleading the Fifth when asked if he was with Trump around underage girls
Resurfaced clip shows Epstein pleading the Fifth when asked if he was with Trump around underage girls

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time19 minutes ago

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Resurfaced clip shows Epstein pleading the Fifth when asked if he was with Trump around underage girls

A resurfaced clip shows sex offender Jeffrey Epstein pleading the Fifth when he was asked during a deposition if he ever socialized with underage girls around Donald Trump. The video clip, unearthed by left-leaning outlet MeidasTouch, shows Epstein responding to questions during a March 2010 deposition. The disgraced financier was questioned by an attorney of an alleged victim, Vice News previously reported. In the clip, the attorney asks: 'Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18?' Epstein replied: 'Though l'd like to answer that question, at least today l'm going to have to assert my Fifth, Sixth, and 14th Amendment rights, sir.' Trump has never been accused of any crime in connection with the Epstein investigation and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Pleading the Fifth refers to invoking the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and not self-incriminate. Epstein once pleaded the Fifth over 1,000 times in a deposition, which addressed his relationships with Virginia Giuffre, Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton, along with subjects including his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, and his New York mansion. It is unclear whether that deposition, details of which were published in a trove of documents in January 2024, is the same 2010 deposition in which he was questioned about Trump. In the 2010 clip, the attorney also asked: 'Have you ever had a personal relationship with Donald Trump?' Epstein asked what the attorney meant by a 'personal relationship.' The attorney rephrased, asking: 'Have you socialized with him?' 'Yes, sir,' Epstein responded. The attorney questioning Epstein is not identified in the clip. A deposition involves an individual giving sworn testimony outside of court, and can involve the names of dozens of people, but it does not mean they are implicated in any crimes. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told The Independent that the clip is "nothing more than out-of-context frame grabs of innocuous videos and pictures of widely attended events to disgustingly infer something nefarious." "The fact is that The President kicked him out of his club for being a creep," Cheung said. "This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media, just like the Obama Russiagate scandal, which President Trump was right about.' Epstein and Trump were known to socialize in New York and Palm Beach. The President had called Epstein a 'terrific guy' in a 2002 interview with New York Magazine but the pair had a falling out around 2004, The New York Times reports. Trump then barred Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club 'for being a creep,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to prostitution charges and was sentenced to 18 months in a minimum-security facility in Palm Beach County. In 2019, Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges. He died by suicide in a New York City jail cell about a month after his arrest. His associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is the only person who has been charged in connection with the Epstein case. The disgraced British socialite is serving a 20-year sentence in a Florida federal prison for her role in helping Epstein recruit, groom, and abuse young girls. The Trump administration has come under increasing pressure, from both Democrats and MAGA allies, to release more information since the Justice Department and FBI released a joint memo on July 6 indicating there would be no further disclosures in the Epstein investigation. The memo said there was no 'client list' containing names of Epstein's alleged high-profile associates. However, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had insinuated that the same 'client list' was on her desk in February amid a tranche of Epstein files. The memo also confirmed Epstein died by suicide, pouring cold water on years of conspiracy theories around his death. The agencies released security footage taken from outside Epstein's cell in the hours leading up to his death to bolster their findings. But some have argued the footage was altered and has a 'missing minute.' The president has tried to quell the outrage, directing Bondi to make attempts to unseal grand jury testimony related to the Epstein investigation. Two judges in Florida and New York denied those requests this week on legal grounds. On Thursday, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Maxwell. Her attorney, David Markus, told reporters she 'never declined to answer' questions and did not invoke any privileges during the meeting. A federal judge rejected a separate request from Maxwell's attorneys to release grand jury transcripts Wednesday. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer also subpoenaed Maxwell Wednesday as a growing number of lawmakers seek more information on the Epstein files. On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi had told Trump in May that his name appears in the Epstein Files. The president denied to reporters earlier this month that his name was in the files. Appearing in the files does not indicate that an individual has committed any wrongdoing. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung called the WSJ report 'fake news.' Last week, the WSJ also reported on an alleged 50th birthday card that Trump sent to Epstein. The WSJ described the 2003 note as including a drawing of a naked woman and Trump's signature made to look like her pubic hair. The report alleges Trump ended the note with a birthday wish for Epstein: 'Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.' Trump denied the card existed, telling the WSJ: 'I never wrote a picture in my life.' The president has sued the newspaper, its parent companies and owner, Rupert Murdoch, for $10 billion. A spokesperson for Dow Jones, the paper's publisher, said the company has 'full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting.'

Former top Biden White House official blames Merrick Garland for failure to look into the Epstein files: ‘He was hypersensitive'
Former top Biden White House official blames Merrick Garland for failure to look into the Epstein files: ‘He was hypersensitive'

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time20 minutes ago

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Former top Biden White House official blames Merrick Garland for failure to look into the Epstein files: ‘He was hypersensitive'

A former top White House official blamed ex-Attorney General Merrick Garland for the Biden administration's failure to do a deep dive into files related to notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Neera Tanden, a senior adviser to former President Joe Biden who became director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, threw Garland under the bus Wednesday when asked, 'Why didn't the Biden administration do anything' about the so-called Epstein files by 'Bulwark Podcast' host Tim Miller. 3 Tanden claimed that the Biden White House did not discuss the Epstein case — or hardly anything — with the Department of Justice when questioned by 'Bulwark Podcast' host Tim Miller. X/@BulwarkOnline Advertisement 'Any time I say anything about Epstein, they're like, 'Why didn't Joe Biden's — why didn't Joe Biden release the files?' And this is what I say: Have you met Merrick Garland?' Tanden responded. '[T]he Joe Biden White House had nothing to do with enforcement on any topic,' she continued, charging that 'because of the abuses of the Trump administration, the White House didn't engage in any particular enforcement matter.' 'We barely did engage on policy with the Department of Justice. They were so arms-length to us.' Advertisement Tanden claimed the Biden White House had 'no idea' what — if anything — Garland was doing related to the Epstein files, but that she believes the former attorney general couldn't tolerate being potentially viewed as biased if he were to open more criminal cases related to Epstein's underage sex trafficking endeavors. 3 Tanden said she believes Garland may have been 'hypersensitive' to potential political blowback related to the Epstein case. AP 'I can't really tell you why Merrick Garland didn't do it. I would say that he was hypersensitive about any perceptions of unfairness to a point where I think, you know, I'm not sure justice was always even done,' Tanden said. 'And I can imagine he thought, you know, after he's doing [Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot cases] and all the conservative blowback on that — maybe he wouldn't even look into Ghislaine Maxwell — but someone should ask him,' she added. Advertisement 'I wish he had looked into it.' 3 Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019 as he awaited trial on federal child sex trafficking charges. REUTERS A House Oversight panel subcommittee on Wednesday voted to subpoena Garland, a slew of other former top Justice Department officials, former President Bill Clinton and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton related to a congressional investigation into Maxwell – an Epstein accomplice who was convicted of sex trafficking conspiracy charges in 2022. The DOJ and FBI announced earlier this month that they did not find any information in the Epstein files that would warrant criminal charges against third parties in the case – sparking outrage from some of President Trump's core base of supporters.

Roy Black, lawyer who represented William Kennedy Smith and Jeffrey Epstein, dies at 80
Roy Black, lawyer who represented William Kennedy Smith and Jeffrey Epstein, dies at 80

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Roy Black, lawyer who represented William Kennedy Smith and Jeffrey Epstein, dies at 80

Prominent Miami defense lawyer Roy Black, who gained national attention by winning an acquittal in the 1991 William Kennedy Smith rape trial and was involved in scores of other high-profile cases ranging from Justin Bieber to Jeffrey Epstein, has died at age 80, his law partner said. Among Black's other well-known clients were Rush Limbaugh, race car driver Helio Castroneves and Columbian drug lord Fabio Ochoa. 'For more than 30 years, Roy was my teacher, mentor and friend,' said his law partner, Howard Srebnick, in an email. 'The loss(es) I feel personally and professionally are immeasurable.' Smith's 1991 trial became a watershed criminal defense moment when most of it was carried live on national television, famously with a blue dot obscuring the identity of the accuser on the witness stand. Smith is a nephew of former president John F. Kennedy, former Attorney General and U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and former Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who was implicated but never charged in the alleged assault of a woman in Palm Beach during a night of heavy drinking. Kennedy Smith is now a physician involved in an organization dedicated to banning land mines and treating victims of them. In Miami, Black was viewed in legal circles as the GOAT — the greatest of all time, said fellow defense attorney David O. Markus, who compared him to NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan. 'He worked harder than any lawyer I know. And he outlawyered every prosecutor who he ever went up against. I will miss him. His impact on criminal defense is beyond measure,' Markus said in an email. The Bieber case involved allegations of driving a Lamborghini under the influence and drag racing, though the pop star eventually pleaded guilty to lesser charges of misdemeanor careless driving and resisting arrest. Indianapolis 500 winner Castroneves was acquitted in a case involving alleged tax evasion. Over the years, Black's clients included Rush Limbaugh; 'Varsity Blues' defendant Amid Khoury, who was found not guilty of rigging college admissions; and Miami police officer William Lozano, who was acquitted in the shooting death of Black motorcyclist Clement Lloyd. The latter acquittal sparked riots in Miami in 1989. Black was part of a group of prominent lawyers who handled Epstein's case, including Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz and former Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Star. Epstein sexually abused children hundreds of times over more than a decade, exploiting vulnerable girls as young as 14, authorities say. In 2019, after Epstein died in a New York jail cell following his arrest on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges, Black sought to stop Epstein's victims from reopening a non-prosecution agreement that allowed Epstein to plead guilty to lesser state charges a decade earlier. Another of Black's law partners, Jackie Perczek, said she learned from him that it was a lawyer's duty to 'fiercely battle the oppressors and support the underdog.' 'This generation and many to come stand on his shoulders,' she said. Black frequently wrote articles about the law for national publications and was regularly on national television shows. He is survived by his wife, Lea, whom he met when she was a juror in the Kennedy Smith trial and who once starred in TV's 'Real Housewives of Miami.' They have a son, RJ, and his daughter, Nora. Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.

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