Musk fuels clamor for Epstein files

The Hill

17-07-2025

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has continued to fuel public intrigue surrounding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as the federal government faces growing pressure to release additional information from the criminal case against the late financier.
Musk first planted the seeds of the latest Epstein controversy during his feud with President Trump last month, when the Tesla CEO alleged Trump was named in the Epstein files and said, 'That is the real reason they have not been made public' — a claim the White House has flatly rejected.
But as the calls have grown louder for greater transparency on Epstein's files, from both lawmakers and the public, Musk has continued to use his social media platform to encourage their questions about the scope of the government's authority and the details of what documents likely have been preserved.
He launched a series of questions at his artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, late Wednesday and early Thursday morning.
'Are there likely to be electronic records in any government or commercial computers recording who traveled on Epstein's plane to the US Virgin Islands?'
Grok said yes, the records 'likely exist.'
Musk responded: 'Would that mean the government right now – as we speak – knows the names & ages of all those who traveled on Epstein's plane? In other words, they have a list of all unaccompanied minors on those flights, along with a list of all adults on those flights?'
Grok responded by noting that the Justice Department and Federal Aviation Administration hold 'extensive passenger manifests and flight logs from Epstein's jets.' The chatbot said that names are often included, but ages are not always listed.
Grok, in a subsequent post, noted the DOJ recently said there are likely hundreds of victims in the criminal cases related to Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell.
'Over 1000 confirmed young victims is a shockingly large and tragic number! In order for the government to confirm that the girls were victimized, they would have had to name or at least describe who raped them,' Musk responded in a post on X.
'This would necessarily mean that the government MUST have the list of rapists aka 'the Epstein client list' in their possession right f—ing now!' Musk continued.
In separate posts, Musk responded to other users who questioned where the evidence in the Epstein case is being held.
'Yeah, where is it?' Musk said in response to one post.
In another post, he responded to a photo of a binder released from the Justice Department earlier this year, titled, 'The Epstein Files: Phase 1.'
'Where is Phase 2?' Musk asked.
The Justice Department and FBI issued a joint memo last week that said Epstein did not have a client list and confirmed he died by suicide — not due to foul play, as many suspected — in his New York City jail cell in 2019.
The findings incensed members of the MAGA movement, who have for years pushed conspiracy theories about Epstein's death and claims that prominent Democrats would be named on a client list.
Even staunch Trump supporters, like far-right activist Laura Loomer and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), have been critical of the handling of the files and called for a special counsel to investigate.
But Trump has fired back at the criticism and bashed 'foolish Republicans,' who he said were helping Democrats by focusing on the Epstein documents.
'Some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net, and so they try and do the Democrats' work,' Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with the crown prince of Bahrain on Wednesday.
'I call it the Epstein hoax. Takes a lot of time and effort. Instead of talking about the great achievements we've had … they're wasting their time with a guy who obviously had some very serious problems, who died three, four years ago. I'd rather talk about the success we have with the economy,' Trump added.