Epstein files reveal close ties to Trump's influential inner circle

The latest tranche of files related to the late sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein reveal new details about the extent to which key members of President Donald Trump's inner circle were interacting with Epstein for years after he was initially arrested and convicted on state prostitution charges

Trump himself maintains that he cut ties with Epstein long ago, and has not been accused of any specific wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial for federal sex trafficking charges. But Trump's name appears hundreds of times in the latest release. Many of those references came in news articles Epstein shared with others. Some were attached to new, unverified allegations, including participation in or awareness of sexual abuse.

More than 3 million pages of documents and tens of thousands of emails and videos were in the Justice Department's latest release, which comes more than a month after the agency missed a deadline to release all of its Epstein files, as set by Congress and signed into law by Trump.

The Department of Justice is required by law to release all documents, including unproven or unsubstantiated claims. Some files have been redacted, though the department has not given a full explanation for what's excluded.

READ MORE: A list of powerful men named in the Epstein files, from Elon Musk to former Prince Andrew

"We did not protect President Trump. We didn't protect – or not protect – anybody. There's a hunger or a thirst for information that I do not think will be satisfied by the review of these documents. And there's -- it's not -- there's nothing I can do about that," U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, one of Trump's former personal lawyers, said during a news conference.

Among the Trump associates in the latest Epstein tranche are former adviser Steve Bannon, friend and former DOGE head Elon Musk and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who each exchanged friendly emails with Epstein for years after his initial arrest and conviction.

So far, no direct evidence of Trump, Musk or Lutnick participating in sex trafficking or sexual abuse have emerged from the files, and inclusion in the documents does not directly prove any sort of illegal activity.

WATCH: What latest released files show about Epstein's ties with prominent figures

Some files detail friendly text exchanges between Bannon and Epstein, including one in 2019 where Epstein asks if Bannon received an Apple Watch he sent him for Christmas. A few days later, invites Bannon to "come join" him in New York.

"In Texas building a wall," Bannon responds.

A text exchange released by the Department of Justice appears to show a string of messages between former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The files also reveal a much closer friendship between Epstein and Musk than Musk had indicated publicly.

FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk attends the 2025 U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, D.C.. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

On Christmas Day 2012, Musk emailed Epstein, asking, "Do you have any parties planned?" Musk wrote that he "really wanted to hit the party scene." Seeming to respond to an invitation to visit Epstein on his private island, Musk responded, "a peaceful island experience is the opposite of what I'm looking for."

Among the files released Jan. 30 by the Department of Justice are several emails between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Also that year, Howard Lutnick, now serving as Commerce secretary, emailed Epstein to say he and his family would be traveling in the Caribbean and asked if they could meet for dinner, requesting Epstein's exact location to give to his boat captain. Lutnick's wife, Allison, appeared to follow up as the date grew closer, telling Epstein assistant Lesley Groff that their yacht's name was Excellence and asking where the boat should go.

The emails appear to contradict both men's claims that they cut off ties with Epstein long before they actually did, and that they were on friendlier terms than they had indicated publicly.

In September 2025, Musk wrote on X, "Epstein tried to get me to go to his island and I REFUSED."

Following the latest release, Musk has been vocal on his social media platform, X, defending his inclusion in the files. He claimed Epstein "hounded" him to visit the island, but says he "always declined."

In a string of posts on X, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has pushed back against characterizations of his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Lutnick said during a podcast interview last year that he cut ties with Epstein in the mid-2000s, saying he found him "disgusting" after visiting his New York City home and observing a massage table in the middle of a main room.

"I was never in the room with him socially, for business, or even philanthropy. If that guy was there, I wasn't going, cause he's gross," Lutnick said at the time.

When reached by the New York Times this week, Lutnick said "I spent zero time with him."

Other names of prominent men in Trump's orbit include director Brett Ratner, who led first lady Melania Trump's newly released documentary, and Kevin Warsh, Trump's new pick to lead the Federal Reserve.

Ratner is mentioned in several emails, including one in 2018 in which it seems his and Epstein's assistants or acquaintances are trying to connect them.

Warsh and his wife Jane Lauder appear in a list shared with Epstein titled "St. Barth's Christmas 2010," among other guests who were planning to attend a party on the island.

In this screenshot of an email released by the Department of Justice, Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh is listed as an attendee of a 2010 party Jeffrey Epstein was planning on St. Barts.