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- Author, Tom Geoghegan
- Author's title, BBC News
- Author, James Fiztgerald
- Author's title, BBC News
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The words “Archives Epstein” have been tormented to the Trump administration in recent weeks as they deal with a growing crisis derived from the sexual crimes of the deceased financial pedophile convict Jeffrey Epstein.
The pressure has been increasing, both by President Trump's own supporters and voices within the Republican Party, so that there is greater transparency about what the investigations on Epstein revealed.
The newspaper Wall Street Journal He said Trump himself was informed in May by his attorney general that his name appeared in files related to investigations.
Trump was a friend of Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the fact that he is named does not constitute any evidence of criminal activity. Trump has not been accused of irregularities in relation to the Epstein case.
During the 2024 election campaign, the president said he would be willing to make more information.
However, earlier this month, he changed posture, stating that the case was closed and criticizing their own supporters, who have continued to press it in this regard.
1. What are the Epstein files?
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In 2008, Epstein reached an agreement with the Prosecutor's Office after the parents of a 14 -year -old girl declared the Florida Police that the millionaire had sexually abused her daughter at her home in Palm Beach.
In the house were found photos of girls and the financier was convicted of requesting prostitution from a minor:: he was registered as a sexual offender but avoided a strong prison sentence thanks to the agreement.
Eleven years later, he was accused of directing a network of sexual traffic from minor girls. He died in prison while waiting for the trial, and it was declared that the cause had been suicide.
These two criminal investigations accumulated a vast amount of documents, including transcriptions of interviews with victims and witnesses, and articles confiscated in raids to the various properties of Epstein.
An independent investigation was also carried out on his British accomplice and ex -girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced in 2021 for conspiring with Epstein to traffic with girls for sexual purposes.
Both Epstein and Maxwell were also subject to civil causes.
2. What has already been made public about Epstein?
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In various stages over the years, material related to Epstein and Maxwell have been made public.
A lot, in January 2024, contained 1,400 pages of records, including statements of both.
A set of documents of the Maxwell case was also public, in which several high profile figures were appointed. However, the documents did not contain new revelations about Epstein or its associates.
In February of this year, weeks after Trump assumed the position, the Department of Justice and the FBI published what they described at the time as the “first phase of Epstein's declassified files.”
A group of influential right people was invited to the White House, but they took a disappointment to discover that the 341 pages that were given to them were, for the most part, material that was already public.
It included flight records of the Epstein plane and an edited version of its contact notebook with the names of famous people they knew.
In July, the Department of Justice and the FBI said in a memorandum that would not be published more material.
3. Who is appointed in the Epstein files?
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According to him Wall Street JournalTrump himself is appointed in unpublished documents related to Epstein, and Attorney General Pam Bondi would have communicated it in May. The newspaper pointed out that his name in the files did not constitute an irregular test.
The White House responded with contradictory messages. Steven Cheung spokesman counterattacked, qualifying the story of “false”, although an anonymous official who spoke with Reuters said the administration did not denied the appearance of Trump's name.
Although the content of unpublished documents is unknown, existing public domain materials mention several high profile figures related to Epstein.
Again, this does not imply that these people have committed irregularities.
Dozens of names were mentioned in a publication of judicial documents in 2024. Prince Andrés of the United Kingdom, former US president Bill Clinton and singer Michael Jackson were among the associates, friends and alleged victims appointed in the 900 pages that were revealed.
Both the former US president and British royalty deny having knowledge of Epstein's crimes. Jackson died in 2009.
The documents that were revealed were related to the case of the ex -girlfriend of Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, who turns 20 years in prison for child sexual trafficking.
4. Is there a list of Epstein customers?
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It has been suggested that Epstein unpublished files could contain an alleged list of clients that could involve high profile characters.
In their July memorandum, the Department of Justice and the FBI declared that said list did not exist. However, conspiracy theories persist.
The alleged list has sometimes mixed with Epstein's broader archives, and Bondi's statements have fed confusion.
The declaration of the Department of Justice that there was no list of clients seemed to contradict their comments at the beginning of the year.
When a Fox News presenter asked him about the alleged list in February, he replied: “I have it on my desk to check it.”
Bondi spokesman later clarified that he referred to the general archives of the Epstein case.
5. What do we know about Trump's relationship with Epstein?
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Trump and Epstein seem to have been friends for several years, maintaining a similar social circle.
Previously published files show that Trump's data appeared on the so -called Epstein's black contact agenda. The flight records also showed Trump traveling on the Epstein plane several times.
They were photographed together in events in the 1990s, and photos recently published by CNN allegedly show Epstein attending Trump's wedding with his second wife, Marla Maples.
In 2002, Trump described Epstein as a “great guy.” Epstein would comment later: “I was Donald's best friend for 10 years.”
According to Trump, they distanced themselves in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein was first arrested. For 2008, Trump claimed that he had not been “a great admirer of his.”
The White House has recently suggested that its conflict was related to Epstein's behavior and that “the president expelled him from his club for being a scoundrel.”
He Washington Post, For its part, it has suggested that the breakdown of its relationship was due to its rivalry for real estate properties in Florida.
6. Why are people so interested in Epstein?
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Small members of Trump's Maga Movement have long believed that officials hide key truths about Epstein's life and death.
Some have theorized that a children's sexual abuse has been operating in the high spheres of American society, protected by the State. The theory was disseminated through cryptic messages published on the Internet by a character with the pseudonym of Q.
In one of the conspiracy theories promoted by some magician influencers, Epstein was an agent of the Israeli government.
There are several unanswered questions about Epstein that also shares the general population, in particular why he received such a slight sentence in Florida, if he and Maxwell really acted alone and how he allowed him to take his life in prison.
Trump and his team exaggerated the theories during their campaign, but now in power, they have not been able to convince their basis that there are no more questions to answer.
