Jeffrey Epstein, left, and Donald Trump together at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., in 1997. Credit – Davidoff Studios—Getty Images
The 2019 death in jail of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire financier connected with some of the most powerful people in the world and who was facing trial on sex trafficking charges, has long been the subject of fascination and conspiracy theories, especially by the right. Some were convinced he was killed in an effort to keep concealed a “list” of his high-profile co-conspirators, despite longtime observers repeatedly indicating that no such list existed.
President Donald Trump said during his 2024 campaign that he’d publicly release such records if he was elected again. But after he returned to office, his Administration disappointed anticipators of the so-called “Epstein Files” when it touted a batch of mostly already public records, despite Attorney General Pam Bondi having previously said that the client list was “sitting on my desk right now to review.”
Bondi at the time blamed the FBI for not abiding by her directive to provide the “full and complete” set of Epstein-related documents in the government’s possession, and right-wing conspiracy theorists have since turned on FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, both of whom had previously promoted Epstein-related conspiracy theories, for supposedly succumbing to the so-called “Deep State” since taking up their roles.
After Trump’s ally-turned-critic Elon Musk left the Administration at the end of May, Musk fueled further conspiracy theories and calls for transparency when he suggested that Trump was implicated in unreleased Epstein files. “That is the real reason they have not been made public,” Musk wrote in a since-deleted post on X. (Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in his associations with Epstein.)
But a new Justice Department and FBI memo, obtained by Axios and ABC News, aims to put the Epstein conspiracy theories to rest, asserting that there is no evidence that the man who “harmed over one thousand victims” was murdered, engaged in blackmail, or kept a client list. The memo cited and provided links hosted on the justice.gov website to video footage of the Manhattan facility where Epstein was detained when he died.
The Justice Department and FBI did not immediately confirm nor deny the authenticity of the memo, which was unsigned and undated. TIME has reached out to both for comment.
“One of our highest priorities is combatting child exploitation and bringing justice to victims,” the memo stated. “Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends.”
“We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” the memo also stated, adding that “no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.”
Already, the memo has incited furious reactions on the right. “So Epstein was trafficking these underage girls to nobody? Is Pam Bondi serious?” conservative activist Robby Starbuck posted on X. “What Epstein and his ilk did was pure evil and this memo attempts to just close the book on it like there’s no one else involved.”
“At this point, it goes FAR beyond simply being DUPED…” posted The Patriot Voice founder John Sabal, who is also known as QAnon John. “This is the Trump Administration SPITTING IN EVERYONE’S FACE & CURB STOMPING MAGA/EPSTEIN VICTIMS.”
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