أخبار العالم

Jeffrey Epstein estate turns over more documents to House committee


WASHINGTON — Jeffrey Epstein’s estate has turned over additional documents to the House Oversight Committee, including a previously redacted name from the late sex offender’s now-notorious 50th birthday book, according to a letter obtained by NBC News.

The name that was unredacted was not immediately publicly released.

The attorneys said in a letter to the committee dated last week that it had “redacted the names of specified categories of individuals out of an abundance of caution to ensure no potential victims are publicly identifiable” when it turned over the book last week, but after “further review, we identified one redacted name that does not appear to fit within those categories.”

The estate also turned over what it described as “another of Mr. Epstein’s address/contact books.”

“In an abundance of caution, we have redacted names and contact information of women who appear in the sections of the book titled ‘Massage — New York (a)’, “Massage — New York (b)’ and ‘Massage — UK’ to ensure that no potential victims are publicly identifiable,” the letter, which was first reported by CNN. says.

The estate attorneys, Daniel H. Weiner and Daniel Ruzumna, also wrote that they would make the original, unredacted book available for the committee to view.

The documents were the second set to be turned over as a result of a congressional subpoena to the estate.

The first, turned over last week, included the contents of the book, a collection of messages that was assembled for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003.

It included a racy and mysterious note that was allegedly signed by President Donald Trump. Trump has denied sending the message and filed a $10 billion defamation suit against the publishers of The Wall Street Journal, which was the first to report on the letter.

In the suit, Trump’s attorneys alleged that the note was “nonexistent” and that “no authentic letter or drawing exists.” A spokesperson for Dow Jones, which publishes the Journal, said it would “vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”

After House Democrats first released the image last week, White House officials denied the signature was authentic and Trump declared the matter “a dead issue.”

Other high-profile names also appear to have contributed to the book, including former President Bill Clinton.

A spokesperson for Clinton’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The former president has denied ever having gone to Epstein’s private island, where some of the abuse is alleged to have occurred.

The same Republican-led committee has also subpoenaed the Justice Department to turn over the entirety of its investigative files on Epstein, who died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019.

The renewed interest in the case came after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel abruptly changed course on their promises of increased scrutiny and transparency in the case, long the subject of conspiracy theories that were stoked by them and other Trump allies.

Instead, they released an unsigned joint DOJ-FBI memo in July that confirmed earlier findings that Epstein died by suicide, that no other people were expected to be charged in the trafficking case and that no further information about the case would be released.

The memo sparked a furious backlash from many Trump supporters, and the Oversight Committee subpoenaed the Justice Department for its investigative files. The DOJ last month turned over 33,000 pages of documents of the estimated 100,000 total pages to date.

Democrats on the committee have said the vast majority of that material was already public, and have called for the Justice Department to quickly turn over the remaining documents.

Kyle Stewart and Syedah Asghar reported from Washington, and Dareh Gregorian from New York.