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This essay reviews the documents released over the past month. All previous reporting on this topic can be found in my Decoding Epstein.
“I didn’t see it myself, but I was told by some very important people that not only does it absolve me, it’s the opposite of what people were hoping, you know, the radical left,” claimed President Donald Trump on January 31, 2026.
He was responding to the release of the latest batch of “Epstein Files” from the Department of Justice (DOJ). A day earlier, the DOJ released over 3 million documents as well as recordings and images related to the now deceased convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein was a shadowy figure whose wealth and influence positioned him at the center of international finance, intelligence, and elite global cooperation.
Contrary to the administration’s claims of absolution, these documents do not undermine the standing allegations; in fact, they strengthen them. The caches released since December 2025 reveal Epstein as a man whose appetite for sex and power allowed him to cultivate a network of relationships that, when coupled with his communications, place him at the intersection of global intelligence gathering, blackmail, and high-level financing for the world’s most powerful individuals.
While the White House was legally mandated to release these documents by December 19, 2025, under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a bill Trump signed into law, the rollout has been defined by delays and controversy. The administration’s “compliance” with the law has been questionable at best. Despite White House claims that this batch fulfills their legal obligations and concludes the file dumps, millions of documents remain hidden. The DOJ is estimated to hold at least three million more pages, and Senator Ron Wyden continues to fight for the release of critical financial records. Furthermore, files from the Epstein estate have already begun leaking to outlets like Drop Site News, much to the chagrin of the Trump Administration.
To make matters worse, on Christmas Eve 2025, the DOJ abruptly announced the discovery of “a million more documents” related to the Epstein case. This reversal came just after the department had publicly claimed that nothing in the existing files warranted further investigation. Reporting indicates that the news of the discovery left President Trump furious, as the sudden influx of evidence directly contradicted the administration’s narrative that the matter was settled.
The release process itself has been a catastrophic failure of basic media literacy and data security. Internal emails revealed the DOJ was scrambling for holiday volunteers to handle redactions, leading to thousands of failures that have resulted in death threats against survivors. The administration initially claimed they were withholding files to protect survivors; however, the reality has been the opposite. Numerous survivors’ names were left unredacted, and explicit images, including ones where survivors are nude, were released without protection. As a result, survivors report receiving death threats.
In some instances, “redacted” text could be revealed simply by copying and pasting the document from one file to another, as the government failed to properly flatten the digital files. In perhaps the most embarrassing oversight, Drop Site News managed to access a batch of files early simply by guessing the government’s insecure web address. The administration’s haphazard approach suggests either a profound lack of technical competence or a deliberate attempt to muddy the waters of a historic transparency effort.
The portrait of Jeffrey Epstein that emerges from the latest document release is one of a man who integrated sexual predation with sophisticated methods of international influence. It is now clear that Epstein leaned on a devoted coterie of employees and associates to facilitate his operations. Most notably, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell worked to secure a steady supply of minor victims, often enlisting the victims themselves to recruit other girls under the false pretense of providing massages. His Amazon purchases, including orders for schoolgirl uniforms and specialized medical devices, appear to substantiate these predatory behaviors.
Beyond his sexual crimes, Epstein’s personal history suggests a deep preoccupation with surveillance and tradecraft. His purchase history includes an unusual fixation on optics, with records showing he ordered seven pairs of high-end binoculars to his Manhattan home, which was equipped with cameras, over a five-year period. This interest in monitoring others is reinforced by a 2017 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informant claim that Epstein employed a personal hacker. The hacker in question was allegedly an Italian citizen who specialized in developing offensive cyber tools and zero-day exploits for mobile devices, which many observers view as evidence that Epstein was actively collecting digital intelligence on his powerful associates. Adding to the aura of international espionage, investigators discovered a fraudulent Austrian passport in Epstein’s safe that featured his photograph under the alias Marius Robert Fortelni and listed his residence as Saudi Arabia.
While it remains uncertain whether these surveillance tools served as the foundation for a strategic global blackmail scheme, the files provide concrete evidence of Epstein engaging in direct attempts at extortion. The files provide a concrete example involving Microsoft’s Bill Gates, whom Epstein reportedly attempted to extort regarding an extramarital affair. Draft emails discovered in the files show Epstein writing to himself as if preparing messages for Gates. Within the files, a draft resignation letter from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation appears to serve as a tool for extortion, citing the procurement of medication for Gates to manage the consequences of sexual encounters with a Russian women. Another draft accused Gates of ending their friendship while repeating lurid claims about a sexually transmitted infection. While spokespeople for Gates have denied these allegations, it has been widely reported that these ties contributed to the dissolution of his marriage to Melinda French Gates.
Perhaps even more damning is an exchange from 2015 in which Epstein reached out to a Russian contact for advice on how to neutralize a woman who was allegedly attempting to blackmail a group of powerful businessmen in New York. Epstein provided the woman’s specific address writing
“how are you , I need a favor , there is a russian girl from moscow. , she is attempting to blackmail a group of powerful biznessman in New York, it is bad for business for everyone involved. she arrived new york saturday of last week staying at the Four Seasons. on 57 street. . Suggestions?”
This interaction has led many to view Epstein not just as a financier, but as a point person for intimidating or silencing potential whistleblowers.
The documents also reignite the controversy surrounding Epstein’s death, which was officially ruled a suicide but has been plagued by questions regarding malfunctioning cameras and the absence of cellmates. The files reveal that at the time of his death, investigators did not believe the note he left was a suicide note. Furthermore, the timeline regarding when cameras stopped and started working remains riddled with inconsistencies between government statements and the recently released footage.
Complicating the record further are several fraudulent documents that surfaced during the investigation, including a fake suicide video found on the dark web and a letter purportedly written by Epstein to serial child molester Larry Nassar. The letter, which referenced the President’s own preferences, was postmarked three days after Epstein’s death and dismissed by the DOJ as a forgery.
Ultimately, the most significant challenge to the suicide conclusion is the evidence of Epstein’s mindset in his final days. Documents show that less than two weeks before he died in 2019, his attorneys met with Manhattan federal prosecutors to discuss a potential resolution of his case. An FBI summary explicitly states that on July 29, 2019, the defense and prosecution discussed the possibility of Epstein’s cooperation. This revelation suggests that at the very moment Epstein was considering sharing what he knew about his powerful network, the security systems meant to keep him alive suffered a total and convenient collapse. This has led some, such as Epstein’s brother to conclude that suicide was not the cause of death.
Nolan Higdon is a founding member of the Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas, Project Censored National Judge, author, and university lecturer at Merrill College and the Education Department at University of California, Santa Cruz.
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