The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent release of over 3.5 million pages from Jeffrey Epstein’s files sheds light on his extensive sex trafficking operation, which spanned more than a decade and involved recruiting underage girls through a network of elite connections. These documents, mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act of November 2025, include emails, flight logs, financial records, and media like 180,000 images and 2,000 videos, organized into 12 datasets for public access.
Epstein’s Background
Epstein rose from teaching math and physics at Manhattan’s Dalton School in the 1970s to Wall Street success at Bear Stearns, later founding his own firm for ultra-wealthy clients despite lacking a college degree. He cultivated ties with politicians, tycoons, and academics globally, meeting Ghislaine Maxwell in 1991; she became his key partner in crimes starting in the mid-1990s.
Trafficking Network Scope
The operation targeted dozens of minors, using Epstein’s properties like Palm Beach mansions, New York townhouses, and Little St. James island for grooming under pretexts like “massages.” It overlapped locations from New Mexico and South Carolina in the early 1990s to peak activity in Florida, New York, and the Caribbean by the early 2000s, leveraging his fortune for recruitment and cover.
Document Release Details
From 6 million total pages identified, the DOJ met the 30-day deadline with partial releases building to this scale, protecting victim identities via redactions while enabling searchable public review. No centralized “client list” exists, and mentions of elites vary from direct contacts to incidental references.
