Possible co-conspirators, fake videos and Trump’s trip

The U.S. Department of Justice released its latest and largest batch of Jeffrey Epstein files on Tuesday.

The more than 11,000 documents are a continuation of a flurry of information released starting on Friday, the deadline under a new law requiring the department to publicly release all investigative documents into the late pedophile and financier.

Many of the documents released Tuesday were redacted with names and information blacked out, including those of people the FBI believes may be co-conspirators in Epstein’s case.

The Justice Department is facing criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle over the number of changes, which the law makes clear can only be made to protect the identity of a victim or an ongoing criminal investigation.

President Donald Trump’s name appears more often in these new documents than in previously released documents. He was mentioned in numerous media clippings, but one notable email from federal prosecutors revealed that Trump was on Epstein’s plane.

The Justice Department said some of the documents “contain untrue and sensational claims about Trump.”

Being mentioned in Epstein’s documents does not indicate wrongdoing. The BBC has asked the individuals named in our reporting to comment.

Among the thousands of pages included in this latest version is a 2001 email from Person identified as “A” stand out.

The message, sent to Epstein’s co-conspirator and close associate Ghislaine Maxwell, said “A” was at “Balmoral Royal Summer Camp.”

“A” then asked Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for sex trafficking of minors and other crimes: “Have you found me some new inappropriate friends?”

In another email sent later that day, Maxwell responded: “I’m sorry to disappoint you but the truth has to be told. I can only find the right friends.”

The “A” email was sent from the address abx17@dial.pipex.com and the sender’s name appears as “The Invisible Man.”

An image from documents previously released by Epstein shows a different but similar email address – aace@dial.pipex.com – listed as a contact named “The Duke of York” in Epstein’s phone book.

Another exchange between Maxwell and the “Invisible Man” in the new archives discusses a trip to Peru.

In October, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lost his title as Duke of York amid scrutiny over his ties to Epstein.

He has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing and said he did not “see, witness or suspect any conduct that subsequently led to his (Epstein’s) arrest and conviction.”

The BBC has contacted Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s team for response.

Among the documents released are what appear to be emails sent between FBI personnel in 2019, which name 10 possible “co-conspirators” of Epstein.

Six of the 10 co-conspirators have received subpoenas, the email said. There are three in Florida, one in Boston, one in New York City, and one in Connecticut.

Four subpoenas had not yet been served when the email was sent, including one to a “wealthy Ohio businessman.”

Another email sent to the FBI in New York provided an update on the co-conspirators. This time multiple names seemed to be mentioned. Most of the content is removed from the file.

Two names have not been redacted – (Ghislaine) Maxwell and Wexner.

“I was unaware that Wexner was contacted by Ohio State,” one email said.

The email may refer to former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner, who had a public friendship with Epstein. In 2019, Wexner said he was “embarrassed” by his relationship with the financier.

“The assistant U.S. attorney overseeing the Epstein investigation stated at the time that Mr. Wexner was neither a co-conspirator nor a target,” Wexner’s lawyer told BBC News.

“Mr. Wexner cooperated fully, provided background information on Epstein, and never contacted him again,” they said.

Possible co-conspirators in Epstein’s crimes are a major focus of his victims and several lawmakers who have called for more transparency from the Justice Department.

“We probably don’t know anything about the 10 co-conspirators that the Department of Justice is investigating,” Democratic MP Suhas Subramanyam told BBC News on Tuesday.

Subramaniam, a member of the House Oversight Committee, added that he was also “concerned” about the extent of redaction to protect attorneys and the names of non-victims. Lawmakers from both parties have said they are exploring legal options to increase transparency.

The law passed by Congress and signed by President Trump stipulates that names and information that could be embarrassing or cause “reputational harm” cannot be redacted, and specifically requires the Justice Department to provide internal communications and memos detailing who is being investigated and decisions made about “charging, not charging, investigating, or declining to investigate Epstein or his associates.”

One letter in the batch of documents has attracted widespread attention online. But according to the judiciary, this is false.

The handwritten letter and envelope initially appeared to show Epstein writing to Larry NassarCurrent former USA Gymnastics Team Physician Decades in prison Sexual abuse of young female athletes.

“As you know, I have now taken the ‘shortcut’ home. Good luck!” the fake letter read. “We share one thing…our love and care for young ladies and wanting them to reach their full potential.”

The author signed it: “Life is unfair, yours, J. Epstein.”

The letter was deemed undeliverable and returned to the Manhattan jail where Epstein was held during his lifetime.

The FBI was alerted to the returned letter and asked to analyze it. The request was also included in a batch of documents released.

The Justice Department called the letter a fake on Tuesday, noting some irregularities on the letterhead and envelope.

“The text appears inconsistent with that of Jeffrey Epstein,” the Justice Department wrote on X.

They added: “The return address did not list the prison where Epstein was being held, nor did it include his inmate number, which is required to send the email.”

Officials noted that the envelope had a postmark from northern Virginia and noted that Epstein was detained in New York. The postmark date is also August 13, 2019, three days after Epstein’s death.

The documents immediately raised questions, even before the Justice Department declared them false.

The sender of the reply was listed as “J. Epstein” of the “Manhattan Correctional Institution,” but the correct name of the now-closed prison is the “Metropolitan Correctional Center.”

Documents released Tuesday also show the FBI’s request for analysis.

The FBI lab request states that in August 2019, a sender named “J. Epstein” at the “Manhattan Correctional Facility” attempted to send a letter to “Larry Nassar at 9300 S. Wilmot Road, Tucson, Arizona, 85756,” which is the address of a federal prison.

Nassar is currently incarcerated in Pennsylvania, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

Trump’s name appears more often in these documents than in other batches of documents released by the Justice Department.

Notably, a federal prosecutor in New York wrote in a January 2020 email that newly received flight records “reflect Donald Trump’s travel on Epstein’s private jet.” Much more than previously reported (or so we know)”.

The recipient of the email has been edited.

Prosecutors wrote that Trump was listed as a passenger on “at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996,” and that Ghislaine Maxwell was on at least four of those flights. Trump is also “listed at various times traveling with Marla Maples, his daughter Tiffany and son Eric, among others.”

Trump was married to Tiffany’s mother, Marla Maples, from 1993 to 1999.

Prosecutors also wrote that “on one flight in 1993, he and Epstein were the only two listed passengers; on another flight, the only three passengers were Epstein, Trump and a passenger who was 20 years old at the time.” The name of the third passenger has been redacted.

“On the other two flights, two passengers were women who may be witnesses in Maxwell’s case.”

Travel time vs. Year reviewed by federal prosecutors Maxwell’s actions and travels are part of the criminal case they have brought against her. She was ultimately found guilty of conspiring with Epstein to recruit and sexually abuse minors.

But many of the other mentions of Trump’s name in the documents released Tuesday were simply references to him, his campaign and other news moments in news clippings.

Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing by Epstein.

In a statement released Tuesday, the Justice Department said the new documents “contain untrue and sensational allegations against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI in advance of the 2020 election.”

“To be clear: These claims are baseless and false, and if they had any credibility at all, they would have been weaponized against President Trump,” the Justice Department said.

One of the strangest entries in the documents released Tuesday was a fake video showing an Epstein-like figure in a prison cell, raising questions about how it appeared in the department’s official documents.

Other documents show that a man from Florida sent federal investigators an email in March 2021 that contained a link to the video. He asked if this was true, but it wasn’t.

BBC Verification Using a reverse image search it was discovered that a copy of the video had been uploaded to YouTube in October 2020. The user who posted the video stated that the clip was created using 3D graphics.

According to a 2023 Bureau of Prisons report, there was no video recording from Epstein’s cell on the day of his death.

The fake video included in this release sheds light on the questions federal authorities have received from the public, many of whom have heard conspiracy theories or harbored doubts over the years and want answers about Epstein’s life or death.

Shayan Sardarizadeh contributed to this report.