Good evening, everyone. I spent a significant part of today reviewing additional Epstein files, and there is a great deal the public needs to know. The documents include a list of men connected to Epstein, emails that remain redacted despite no clear justification, and deeply disturbing messages that describe the abuse survivors endured. These accounts are difficult to read, but they matter, and the world should see them. (Trigger warning.)
The coming week will be especially important for the Epstein files. Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to testify on Capitol Hill, and Ghislaine Maxwell will be deposed on Monday.
I will remain relentless in this coverage. I will not stop. That is why I am still here, caffeinated, focused, and reviewing every page.
Here’s the news:
- Documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice reveal that the Federal Bureau of Investigation compiled an internal list of allegations involving at least 11 prominent men connected to Jeffrey Epstein, based largely on tips, interviews, and secondhand claims rather than a verified “client list.”
- The names, included in a PowerPoint sent to FBI Director Kash Patel in 2025, range from Donald Trump and Bill Clinton to business and media figures, and contain accusations spanning rumors, sexual assault, orgies, and money laundering, many of which those named strongly deny.
- Several emails show the Department of Justice over-redacting information:
- A newly revealed exchange shows Jeffrey Epstein communicating with a child he groomed and trafficked after she told him a doctor diagnosed her with molluscum, though her symptoms suggested a possible herpes infection. She said Epstein was the only person she had been sexually involved with and expressed confusion and distress about how she became ill, while also noting she was uncomfortable being examined by a male doctor associated with Epstein. The exchange highlights the coercion, loss of bodily autonomy, and power imbalance faced by Epstein’s victims, underscoring why survivor testimony is critical to understanding exploitation. Full email here.
- Newly released U.S. Department of Justice files show that Jeffrey Epstein built relationships with senior Russian officials and business figures, sought help from a Russian official after claiming a Moscow woman was blackmailing “powerful businessmen,” and repeatedly tried to arrange a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, expanding evidence of Epstein’s extensive international political and intelligence-linked contacts.
- Jeffrey Epstein’s private emails show persistent efforts throughout the 2010s to arrange a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, often using former Norwegian prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland as an intermediary, though Justice Department files contain no evidence such a meeting ever occurred.
- Separate emails show Epstein telling former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak that he had been invited to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum but declined, insisting that any meeting with Putin would require “real time and privacy.”
- Justice Department files show that Sergey Belyakov, a graduate of Russia’s Federal Security Services Academy and then a deputy economic development minister, cultivated a close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, exchanging gifts, invitations, and business discussions while Belyakov ran the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and later worked with Russia’s sovereign wealth fund. Correspondence indicates Epstein introduced Belyakov to figures such as former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and U.S. tech billionaire Peter Thiel, and sought Belyakov’s help in 2015 with an alleged blackmail attempt by a Russian woman involving “powerful businessmen,” highlighting Epstein’s reliance on senior Russian-linked contacts.
- New files also raise concerns about federal handling of Epstein related evidence. In March 2025, the Federal Bureau of Investigation discussed internally whether they had “clear and specific guidance” to redact images involving former U.S. presidents, a secretary of state, and other celebrities.
- A 2013 email shows someone telling Jeffrey Epstein that he had offered to buy her baby, highlighting another disturbing and unexplained statement linked to his behavior.
- This email shows how there was a Epstein victim that was part of a sex-trafficking scheme in Israel, and how her attorney tried to get her to the United States of America. Read the full email chain here.
- Hermes turned down Jeffrey Epstein as a donor in 2016:
- French prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into former culture minister Jack Lang over suspected laundering of tax fraud proceeds linked to his connections with Jeffrey Epstein, following the release of Epstein-related files by the U.S. Department of Justice. Lang, 86, who is named hundreds of times in the files, denies any wrongdoing and says he was unaware of Epstein’s crimes, but has offered to resign as head of the Arab World Institute amid mounting pressure.
- His daughter, Caroline Lang, is also under investigation over alleged financial links, though authorities say neither she nor Lang is accused of involvement in Epstein’s sexual offenses, and being named in the files does not imply criminal conduct.
- A whistleblower alleges the National Security Agency detected a sensitive phone call between foreign intelligence and someone close to Donald Trump. According to the whistleblower’s attorney, Tulsi Gabbard blocked the report from normal distribution, took a paper copy directly to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and instructed the NSA to send the intelligence only to her office.
- The disclosure to Congress was delayed for months, prompting Democrats to say the complaint was improperly buried and may have violated whistleblower law, while Gabbard’s office denies wrongdoing and calls the allegations false and politically motivated.
- Senator Ossoff: We were told that MAGA was for working-class Americans. But this is a government of, by, and for the ultra-rich. It’s the wealthiest Cabinet ever. This is the Epstein class. They are the elites they pretend to hate. If you’re Steve Bannon, how do you sell any of this? He’s literally closing rural hospitals to cut taxes for George Soros.
- At the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan, Vice President JD Vance was met with audible boos and jeers from parts of the crowd when shown on stadium screens, but U.S. viewers did not hear the reaction because NBC’s broadcast appeared to cut or mute the crowd noise; the boos were captured by other broadcasters and witnesses, spread widely on social media.
- An Ohio man, Shannon Mathre, 33, was arrested on Feb. 6 after a grand jury indictment for threatening to kill Vice President JD Vance, allegedly saying he would use an M14 rifle to carry out the attack; during the investigation, authorities also discovered he possessed and distributed child sexual abuse material between late December 2025 and January 2026, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared Sunday “Bad Bunny Day” ahead of the Super Bowl, with his press office posting an over-the-top, Trump-style message praising Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny’s talent, looks, and Spanish-language music in response to conservative backlash over his halftime show selection.
See you in the morning.
— Aaron
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