The US Justice Department’s release of millions of internal documents related to Jeffrey Epstein has revealed the late financier and sex offender’s ties to many prominent people in politics, finance, academia and business — both before and after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution charges, including soliciting an underage girl.

Evidence in multiple legal and criminal cases has also shed light on these connections.

Epstein was arrested again in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. His death in a Manhattan jail cell that year was ruled a suicide.

The Justice Department has said that the material could include faked images or untrue allegations, as well as pornographic material.

On Monday, the department said it had removed several thousand documents that inadvertently identified some of Epstein’s victims.

The Justice Department’s No. 2 official, Todd Blanche, has said the material did not amount to evidence of criminal sexual activity by those named in the files.

Here are some of the prominent people whose ties to Epstein were revealed in the newly released material.

US President Donald Trump socialized extensively with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s and is quoted in a magazine profile during that period as saying that Epstein likes women “on the younger side.”

Documents released by the Justice Department include photos of Trump with several women whose faces are redacted and a suggestive note to Epstein, framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to bear Trump’s signature.

Evidence and testimony submitted in the 2021 trial of Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell indicate Trump traveled on Epstein’s plane multiple times. Epstein wrote in one email that Trump “knew about the girls,” though it is not clear what he meant.

Trump has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and says he broke off ties in the early 2000s, before Epstein’s plea deal. Trump denies ever flying on Epstein’s plane and says the suggestive note was faked.

The Democratic former US president socialized with Epstein and flew on his plane several times in the early 2000s, after leaving office. Photos released by the Justice Department show him swimming and posing with women whose faces are redacted. Clinton has denied wrongdoing and says he regrets his past association with Epstein.

The former Prince Andrew, Duke of York, maintained a social relationship with Epstein and has been stripped of his royal title due to the association. The US Justice Department sought his cooperation in multiple criminal investigations but was rebuffed.

He also settled........

© The Times of Israel