Finally, this was it. The Epstein files in their entirety. >> We are producing more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos, 180,000 images, >> the fullest picture we have of the disgraced pedophile and sex trafficker.
>> I have pictures up on the wall, >> the dozens of victims, and the scale of his high-profile network. >> They've been trying to stop Andrew from being a distraction, and now this has happened. Three images appearing to show him on all fours over a woman.
>> From former royals to celebrities to politicians, these files continue to cause aftershocks around the world. >> None of us knew the depth and the darkness of that relationship. >> The Prince of Darkness is gone.
>> It's potentially the biggest political scandal of this century. >> We've gone through hundreds of thousands of files, emails, and photographs. So, let's get into it.
At the heart of this is the life and the crimes of one man. But this is a story about the survivors, the royals, the politics, and the famous faces. Most importantly, the survivors who have fought for years to bring these documents to life.
These files aren't just about lurid photos or ill-advised friendships. They document in precise detail exactly what Epstein did. One document here shows a list of some of the witnesses.
It looks dry and methodical until you see the ages 17 years old for all these victims at high school. These were school children and they were abused hundreds of times. Other victims described being raped and beaten in graphic detail.
Victim's journals are also included in the files. One victim took this pre-branded title, Flights of Fancy, and altered it so it read, "Flights and yachts of horror. " Some survivors spoke to Sky News after the files were published.
For some, it brought back memories of what they went through. For others, fresh anger at not being protected. >> One of the young girls came to the door and said, "You know, Jeffrey's ready for his massage.
" And argued with the girls for a little bit because I don't know how to do a massage. And um they said, "Well, you have to, you know, you requested you. " So, I went with the other girl who brought me to the island.
I went into the room to do this massage and the massage turned into sexual assault. What we're seeing with the files is that there are extreme redactions and then extreme uh neglect to redact. I mean, a a 5-year-old could have done a better job redacting these files with color-coded crayons.
It is an embarrassment that our Department of Justice put this out as their very best work. Um, it is shocking the damage that this Department of Justice has done with the way that they have released survivors personal information out there. uh when when they literally had one job which was to redact survivors names.
>> In a letter to judges overseeing the cases brought against Epstein and Maxwell, US attorney Jay Clayton wrote that the department had taken down nearly all materials identified by victims or their lawyers along with a substantial number of documents identified independently by the government. For years, we have seen Epstein through the prism of his relationship with Andrew Mountbatton Windsor. And the disgraced former prince along with other former royals were a crucial part of this release, too.
The best known victim of Epstein was Virginia Jeffrey, who died last year, and the files appear to support her version of events. These are the puzzling pictures of the then Prince Andrew. Three images appearing to show him on all fours over a woman who's lying on the floor.
We don't know who she is or where and when the photos were taken. And Andrew has always strongly denied any wrongdoing. But once again, we're learning how close he was to Jeffrey Epstein.
Exposing emails reveal more about their relationship and how Andrew continued contact after Epstein was a convicted sex offender. Inviting him into the inner sanctum of royal life. We could have dinner at Buckingham Palace and lots of privacy, Andrew writes.
Epstein replies, BP, please. And here Epstein offers Andrew dinner with a Russian woman. Andrew says, "Great.
Any other information you might know about her that might be useful to know? Like, what have you told her about me? And have you given her my email as well?
" From Epstein, she 26 Russian, clever, beautiful, trustworthy, and yes, she has your email. Andrew claimed he cut off all ties with Epstein at the end of 2010, but emails suggest the two men were still in touch. And far from their friendship ending, Andrew and Sarah Ferguson were being helped financially by Epstein.
>> And the files necessitated a response from Andrew's wider family. >> They've been trying to stop Andrew from being a distraction. And now this has happened.
I think it's all really important always to remember the victims and and who are the victims in all this. >> Andrew's younger brother Edward the first to be forced to respond on an official trip after those Epstein files were released. the first member of the royal family to talk about it.
In some ways, really sticking to the official line because you might remember in a statement back in October when Andrew was stripped of his titles and his home, we heard that the king and queen's thoughts and utmost sympathies have been and will remain with the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse. Now, while Andrew and Sarah Ferguson have continuously denied any wrongdoing, with Sarah also suggesting she was being blackmailed by Epstein, this latest release of files have again given us a bigger picture of the relationship between the Yorks and Epstein and the fact it continued well after his conviction of those pedophile charges. One of the latest emails also shows that Sarah took her daughters Beatrice and Eujenei to Miami to see Epstein 5 days after he was released from jail.
The first email comes from Leslie Grath, who is the assistant to Epstein, saying to him, "Regarding the flights for the Duchess and the girls from Heathrow to Miami and from New York to Heathrow, we were able to get the girls on economy round trip and the Duchess on business roundtrip. Do I have your permission to purchase these tickets? " There's then an email from his assistant to Fergie's assistant, Amanda Lewis, which says, "Amanda, can you please let me know where the Duchess will be staying while in Miami?
" Amanda then replies to Leslie saying they'll be with Jeffrey at 1:00 for lunch. I hope this is okay. And then the final email is actually from Sarah Ferguson to Jeffrey Epstein in which she says, "It'll be myself, Beatatrice, and Eujenei.
Are we having lunch? " and Epstein replies, "Yes, vegetable lasagna. " All of this extra information has just led to more demands for both Sarah and Andrew to open up more about what they knew, what they saw, and to help those authorities looking into Epstein's crimes.
And a reminder that being included in the files doesn't imply any wrongdoing. They stretch back decades, but they set a bomb off under contemporary British politics. The final nail in the coffin were these emails from 2009.
Market sensitive data sent straight from the heart of number 10 to the pedophile financia. This when he was Gordon Brown's business secretary, sealed the fate of a man who had already been forced out of public life twice before. Karma brought him back last year as our man in the US.
a stunning political appointment to get Britain in with the Trump administration. But the political honeymoon didn't last long. In September, a birthday book from 2003 was released where he described Epstein as his best pal.
The prime minister sacked him after number 10 said he lied about his contact with the convicted sex offender. But the scale of the relationship didn't become fully clear until the US Department of Justice released 3 million new Epstein files. Not only are there pictures of him in his underwear in Epstein's flat in Paris and documents showing payments from Epstein to Mandlesson's husband, there's no suggestion of any wrongdoing from him, but the bombshell emails appearing to show he was leaking repeatedly to Epstein with a final straw.
The calls then began for him to be stripped of his periage from across the political spectrum. Finally, with the writing on the wall, he has gone. I've decided to inform the house that the cler of the parliament has today received notification from Lord Mandlesson of his intention to retire from the house effective from 4th February.
>> I think the eyes have it. The eyes have it. >> What on earth just happened?
Well, what you saw there is a government in fullblown retreat. It might not have looked like it, but make no mistake, this was a humiliating defeat because not only do the government have to disclose all of the Mandlesson files, but they don't get to decide which bits of it to hold back in the name of national security. They have to hand that decision over to the Parliament Intelligence and Security Committee.
And who forced them to do that? Their own MPs. There are well-worn filters through parliament through the select committee corridor and there are various committees that could have locus in this space to properly and sensitively handle information.
I think there is consensus Mr Speaker that everybody wants as much information as possible in the public domain so that we can get to the bottom of what has happened. Now, that intervention and all of it, I should say, was kicked off by none other than Angela Raina earlier in the debate only came about because Labour MPs don't trust their own government. They want independent oversight of the Mandalsson files.
And if that wasn't a low point, it gets even worse for Kier Starmmer because the Met Police has now said that they don't want the government to release any evidence that might prejudice their investigation. the very evidence that Kstarma wants to release to prove to his MPs that he really was deeply misled by Mandolen. So that's another problem for Kier Stalmer.
The PM is in a serious bind because he needs to prove to his MPs that he was seriously misled and I can tell you that his MPs are febral. Some of them feeling very very compromised and wondering what they should do next. So this is a huge scandal.
It's potentially the biggest political scandal of this century. How on earth did we get here? >> Mandlesson betrayed our country, our parliament, and my party.
>> Over the weekend, it emerged that Peter Mandlesson, when he was in government in 2009, leaked market sensitive top secret government information to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. And to give you a sense of how serious this is, Mandlesson is now under criminal investigation for this, for misconduct in public office and leaking confidential government information. And if he's prosecuted and convicted, well, he could face jail time.
So, that is pretty enormous. And I don't need to tell you how bad it looks. But that isn't where it ends because the scandal has come right to the door of the current prime minister.
And that's because last year Karma personally brought Peter Mson back into government as the ambassador in Washington for the UK. It was a massive job and I don't need to tell you that the prime minister is now massively ruined the day he took that decision. >> I regret appointing him.
If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near government. Peter Mandlesson has said, "I was wrong to believe Epstein following his conviction and to continue my association with him afterwards. I apologize unequivocally for doing so to the women and girls who suffered.
" Epstein cultivated an extraordinary social network. Again, being included in these files isn't evidence of wrongdoing, but they show just how extensive and just how highly placed his acquaintances were. One of those names is the world's richest man, Elon Musk.
He's always denied any close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. But they exchange numerous emails trying to arrange a visit for Musk to Epstein's island in the Caribbean. In one of them, Musk goes on to write this.
What day night will be the wildest party on your island? Now, Musk has addressed those allegations directly on X. He wrote, "No one pushed harder than me to have the Epstein files released, and I'm glad that has finally happened.
I had very little correspondence with Epstein and declined repeated invitations to go to his island or fly on his Lolita Express, but was well aware that some email correspondence with him could be misinterpreted and used by detractors to smear my name. " I don't care about that. But what I do care about is that we at least attempt to prosecute those who committed serious crimes with Epstein, especially regarding heenous exploitation of underage girls.
>> Elsewhere in these files, an assistant to Epstein asks to bring two Russian girls to Branson's private island. This is April 2013. There's a reply that reads, "That's fine.
How many people? Could we have all names, please? Best Richard Branson's team has confirmed that there were two brief business meetings on Neker Island in April and September 2013.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Virgin Group said any contact Richard and Joan Branson had with Epstein took place on only a few occasions more than 12 years ago, and it was limited to group or business settings. The statement goes on, "Had they had the full picture and information, there would have been no contract whatsoever. Richard believes that Epstein's actions were aborant and supports the right to justice for his many victims.
" >> Bill Gates is the latest high-profile figure to face pressure after being named in the files. This photo of him is taking it from there. We don't have the context around it.
And again, merely appearing in the files isn't a suggestion of wrongdoing. Now, in one email sent by Jeffrey Epstein to himself, a draft email that was never sent on to anyone else, he accuses Bill Gates of catching a sexually transmitted infection, and then secretly trying to provide antibiotics to his wife at the time, Melinda Gates. Bill Gates has rejected that allegation, saying it is false, and says he regrets ever meeting Jeffrey Epstein.
Now, in another email sent by Epstein to himself, he says that he was helping Bill to get drugs in order to deal with consequences of sex with Russian girls. Again, he's denied those allegations, but his wife, Melinda Gates, his ex-wife, has said that he has to answer some questions. >> For me, it's personally hard whenever those details come up, right?
Because um brings back memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage. But I have moved on from that. I purposely pushed it away and I moved on.
I'm in a really unexpected beautiful place in my life. So whatever questions remain there of what I don't can't even begin to know all of it. Those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband.
They need the answer to those things, not me. >> The co-founder of Microsoft has not been accused by any of Epstein's victims and he called the allegations absurd and completely false. He also spoke on Australia's channel 9.
>> I met Jeffrey in 2011. Uh so over a period of three years I had a number of uh dinners with him. >> Uh the focus was always he knew a lot of very rich people and he was saying he could get them uh to give money to global health.
You know it's factually true that I was only at dinners. You know I never went to the island. I never met any women.
And so you know the more that comes out the more clear it'll be. uh that although the time was a mistake, it had nothing to do with that kind of behavior. >> The Clintons have capitulated.
That's how they're framing it here on Capitol Hill. For months, Bill and Hillary Clinton had refused to testify before the congressional committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein. They said subpoenas issued by the Republican chair of that committee, James Comr, were invalid and not legally enforcable.
The former president and former secretary of state accused him of targeting them for opposing Donald Trump and vowed to fight this. But things changed when some Democrats on the panel joined Republicans in a vote recommending that they be charged with criminal contempt. If the Justice Department chose to prosecute them, they faced up to a year in jail and fines of up to $100,000.
President Clinton had offered to sit for a 4hour transcribed interview. Mr. Clinton had offered to make a sworn declaration instead of testifying.
But the chairman of the committee described that as a desire for special treatment and an affront to the American people's desire for transparency. Bill Clinton will be the first former president to appear before Congress since Gerald Ford did so way back in 1983. When President Trump was subpoenaed by the committee investigating the January 6th raid on the capital, he sued the panel and they backed down.
Bill Clinton was acquainted with Jeffrey Epstein, but has said he never visited his private island and ended contact with him two decades ago. Hillary Clinton says she never met or spoke to Jeffrey Epstein. >> Now, in his 2024 memoir called Citizen: My Life After the White House, Bill Clinton wrote, "The bottom line is even though it allowed me to visit the work of my foundation, traveling on Epstein's plane was not worth the years of questioning afterward.
I wish I had never met him. " Epstein led a billionaire's life, and he led it brazenly. Prosecutors did repeatedly try to uncover the full truth of Epstein's crimes.
The newest files contain a deposition of Epstein from 2010, part of a civil lawsuit. He invoked US constitutional amendments to refuse to answer questions. >> How did you meet Galain Maxwell?
>> I intend to respond to all relevant questions to this lawsuit. However, at the present time, my attorneys have counseledled me that I cannot provide answers to any questions relevant to this lawsuit and must accept this advice or risk losing my effective my right to effective representation. Accordingly, therefore, I assert my fifth, sixth, and 14th amendment right to US Constitution.
But his crimes, which went for so long unpunished, eventually led him somewhere very different. Detention, prison, and death. That has proved little comfort for some victims who were denied a public trial.
They have fought for the files to be released and even now they do not think the promise of transparency is being fulfilled. But there is much more still to come from this database and we continue to investigate.
