The Delaware Supreme Court rules in favour of Musk and his $56bn compensation package.

Published On 19 Dec 202519 Dec 2025

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Elon Musk’s 2018 pay package from Tesla, once worth $56bn, has been restored by the Delaware Supreme Court, in the United States, two years after a lower court struck down the compensation deal as “unfathomable”.

Friday’s ruling overturns a decision that had prompted a furious backlash from Musk and damaged Delaware’s business-friendly reputation.

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The pay package was by far the largest ever, until Tesla shareholders approved a new, even larger pay plan of nearly $1 trillion in November.

The ruling means that Musk can finally get paid for his work since 2018, when he transformed Tesla from a struggling startup to one of the world’s most valuable companies.

The 2018 pay deal provided Musk options to acquire about 304 million Tesla shares at a deeply discounted price if the company hit various milestones, which it did.

Tesla estimated in 2018 that the plan was potentially worth $56bn, although given the rise in the stock price, the value ballooned to about $120bn by early November. The options represent approximately 9 percent of Tesla’s outstanding stock.

Musk never collected his stock options because, soon after shareholders approved the 2018 compensation, the board was sued by Richard Tornetta, an investor with just nine Tesla shares.

In 2024, after a five-day trial, Delaware Judge Kathaleen McCormick concluded that Tesla’s directors were conflicted and key facts were hidden from shareholders when they voted to approve the plan. She ordered that the 2018 plan be rescinded.

Musk accused Delaware judges of being activists, hostile to tech founders, and he urged businesses to follow Tesla and reincorporate elsewhere.

Dropbox, Roblox, The Trade Desk and Coinbase were among the handful of large companies that moved their legal homes to Nevada or Texas. However, Delaware remains by far the most popular legal home for US public companies.

Tesla’s board has warned that Musk, the world’s richest person who also leads the SpaceX rocket venture and the artificial intelligence startup xAI, could leave the electric car company if he does not get the pay he wants and an increase in his voting power.

In November, shareholders approved a new pay package that could be worth $878bn if Tesla meets targets for self-driving vehicles, a robotaxi network and sales of humanoid robots.

Tesla has taken steps to reduce the risk that a shareholder could tie up the 2025 package in the courts.

The Austin-based company is now incorporated in Texas, which allows Tesla to require that any investor or group of investors must own 3 percent of the company stock before suing for an alleged corporate law violation. A stake of that size would be worth about $30bn, and Musk is the only individual with that much stock.

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Trump administration begins releasing long-awaited Epstein files

The US justice department has begun releasing the long-awaited “Epstein files”, after months of political wrangling, a popular furor and repeated attempts to deflect scrutiny over Donald Trump’s links to the late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The release comes after deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said that the justice department would release “several hundred thousand documents” from the Epstein files on Friday but hinted that some may be held back – at least temporarily – citing the need to protect victims.

“I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks,” he added.

House Democrats, led by Robert Garcia and Jamie Raskin, condemned the Trump administration’s delay to release all of the Epstein files as a violation of federal law and vowed to pursue legal options.

The scandal has dominated Washington for months, dogging the US president since his return to the White House for a second term, splintering his conservative base and spurring accusations of an attempted “cover-up” from across the political spectrum.

Some of the most sought-after material will pertain to the president’s relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges in 2019. Trump and Epstein were close friends for years before falling out.

Trump is not accused of any wrongdoing. But concerns have been raised about how, why and when his relationship with Epstein broke down, and how much Trump knew about Epstein’s conduct. Trump and his allies have denied that he knew about Epstein’s conduct, and no evidence has suggested that he took part in Epstein’s trafficking operation.

A projection on to a building near the White House demanding that Trump release the Epstein files. Photograph: Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/ShutterstockShare

Updated at 22.09 CET

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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor pictured in new files

Another photo shows Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, lying across five people whose faces are redacted. The only other identifiable person is Ghislaine Maxwell, who is standing behind them.

Andrew has been under scrutiny for many years over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. He has denied all accusations against him. In a statement from October after he was stripped of his royal titles, Andrew said he stood by his decision to step back from public life as the “accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family”. “With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me.”

Ghislaine Maxwell and former Prince Andrew in a partially redacted photo released by the Department of Justice. Photograph: Department of JusticeShare

What had already emerged about Trump’s links to Epstein?

Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were friends for 15 years, with Epstein at one point believing himself to be Trump’s “closest friend”.

“I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,” Trump told New York magazine in 2002. “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”

The relationship eventually broke down, with the men falling out over a bidding war on a property in Florida. After Epstein was convicted of child sex offences in Florida in 2008, Trump distanced himself from the financier, claiming he was “not a fan”.

The most recent explanation of the relationship breakdown from Trump is that the friendship ended because Epstein repeatedly “stole” employees from the spa at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, which Trump deemed an “inappropriate” tactic. He has suggested one of the employees was Epstein’s most high-profile accuser Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April.

Virginia Giuffre, who died earlier this year. Photograph: Everett Collection Inc/Alamy

Other reports suggest that Trump barred Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after Epstein behaved inappropriately toward a club member’s teenage daughter, according to journalists from the Miami Herald and Wall Street Journal.

After the president spent the summer batting away questions over his relationship with Epstein, on 8 September a 238-page scrapbook given to Epstein for his 50th birthday was made public by House Democrats.

Featuring letters suggesting the sex offender’s lecherous exploits were an open secret, the book included a message bearing Donald Trump’s signature.

Inside a sketch of a woman’s torso, the message depicts an imagined conversation between Trump and Epstein, concluding:

Happy birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.

Trump’s name and distinctive signature appear below.

The White House claimed the signature was not Trump’s, despite it appearing identical to numerous public examples. Trump dismissed the letter as “FAKE”.

(Here is our explainer of who is in the “birthday book” and what they said.)

Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 1997. Photograph: Davidoff Studios Photography/Getty Images

Then in November, Democrats released three of Epstein’s email exchanges that suggest Trump knew about the disgraced financier’s conduct.

In a message sent to Ghislaine Maxwell on 2 April 2011, Epstein described Trump as “that dog that hasn’t barked”. Epstein wrote that Trump “spent hours at my house” with one of his sex-trafficked victims, and noted that Trump had “never once been mentioned” in connection with his crimes. Maxwell replied: “I have been thinking about that … ”

In a separate message, sent to the journalist Michael Wolff in January 2019, Epstein wrote: “of course [Trump] knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.”

The third released email exchange, from December 2015, shows Wolff advising Epstein that if Trump claimed to have not visited Epstein’s house or flown on his plane, “then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency”.

Maxwell, the daughter of the media tycoon Robert Maxwell, was Epstein’s one time girlfriend and was convicted of sex trafficking crimes as his accomplice.

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Updated at 23.58 CET

Group photos including Trump seen in latest Epstein file release

We’re very much still combing through all the files, but one image so far has featured Donald Trump. On a desk with many photographs of Epstein and various people including Bill Clinton and Mohammed bin Salman, is a photo in which Trump stands with several women and another that has been previously released with Melania Trump, Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein.

A photograph released as part of the Epstein files. Photograph: Department of JusticeShare

A quick recap: how did we get here?

Trump and his allies long stoked conspiracy theories around Epstein and he and vice-president JD Vance promised the release of the files on the campaign trail. Pam Bondi also told Fox News in February that a list of Epstein’s clients was “sitting on my desk ready to review”.

The Department of Justice gave a group of conservative commentators binders labeled “The Epstein files: phase one” later in February. But the files contained little new information, leaving conspiracy theorists disappointed, prompting Bondi to describe the documents as the “first phase of files”. In a statement, the DoJ said it “remains committed to transparency and intends to release the remaining documents upon review and redaction to protect the identities of Epstein’s victims”.

But in an abrupt U-turn in July, the DoJ walked that back, announcing there was no client list and that it would not be making public any more files related to the sex-trafficking investigation.

The fallout was significant, with the saga dramatically plunging Trump’s Maga base into turmoil and igniting an intense backlash amid accusations of a “cover-up”.

Trump and Epstein depicted in a work of protest art by free speech advocates on the National Mall. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

Republican lawmakers moved to block a Democratic effort to force the release of the Epstein files on 14 July. But the next day, House speaker Mike Johnson, a fierce Trump ally, called for the Epstein documents to be released.

“It’s a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it,” Johnson told a rightwing podcaster, joining a small but growing number of Republicans demanding the documents be made public. Chip Roy, Thomas Massie and Ralph Norman, Republican members of the House, demanded more information be released.

Trump, meanwhile, dismissed the uproar and went on the attack, calling the issue a “hoax” and railing against those who wanted to make the documents public. The Epstein files, he said, were “boring” and anyone who cared about them – though many of them are his own supporters – were “bad people”.

As the issue refused to go away, four dissident Republicans in the House, and all Democrats, banded together to force a vote on a bill to release the files, over Johnson’s objections.

The House overwhelmingly approved the bill on 19 November in a 427-1 tally. The Senate agreed to pass the bill, and it was sent to Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

The law required the justice department to release the files within 30 days, though it is permitted to hold back records that identify victims, including images of child sexual abuse, or documents that have been deemed classified.

It also has discretion to withhold records that could prejudice a federal investigation. Trump last month ordered a criminal investigation into Epstein’s links with prominent Democrats, including former president Bill Clinton.

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Ex-Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson seen in photos released by DoJ

Sarah Ferguson, the former Duchess of York, can also be seen sitting on a sofa next to a person whose identity has been shielded, and standing next to a woman in another photo whose face is also redacted.

There is no context provided and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing.

Sarah Ferguson in a partially redacted photo released by the Department of Justice. Photograph: Department of JusticeSarah Ferguson in a partially redacted photo released by the Department of Justice. Photograph: Department of JusticeShare

Updated at 23.34 CET

Mick Jagger and Bill Clinton appear in photos released by DoJ

Another photo shows Ghislaine Maxwell, Mick Jagger, Bill Clinton and others around a table. There is no context given and appearing in these photos is not a suggestion of wrongdoing.

Bill Clinton, Mick Jagger and Ghislaine Maxwell in a photo released by the Department of Justice. Photograph: Department of JusticeShare

Updated at 23.34 CET

Schumer decries ‘heavily redacted’ files as ‘just a fraction of the whole body of evidence’

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has condemned the justice department for “releasing just a fraction of the whole body of evidence” on Epstein.

“Simply releasing a mountain of blacked out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law,” he said in a statement.

The law Congress passed calls for the complete release of the Epstein files so that there can be full transparency. This set of heavily redacted documents released by the Department of Justice today is just a fraction of the whole body of evidence.

Simply releasing a mountain of blacked out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law. For example, all 119 pages of one document were completely blacked out. We need answers as to why.

Senate Democrats are working to assess the documents that have been released to determine what actions must be taken to hold the Trump administration accountable. We will pursue every option to make sure the truth comes out.

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Updated at 00.15 CET

Here Jeffrey Epstein is pictured with Peter Mandelson. Again, there is no context and no suggestion of wrongdoing.

Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein. Photograph: Department of JusticeShare

Updated at 23.17 CET

More files to be released on rolling basis, deputy attorney general says

Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche has said more files will be released by the justice department on a rolling basis.

He said in a post on X that “additional responsive materials will be produced as our review continues, consistent with the law and with protections for victims”.

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Updated at 23.33 CET

Photos: files release includes celebrities pictured in with Epstein

Here are some images from the newly released files that feature Michael Jackson, Richard Branson, Bill Clinton, Diana Ross, Chris Tucker and other people whose identities have been shielded.

These images have been released as part of this trove of files without context, and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing related to Epstein’s crimes.

Jeffrey Epstein and Michael Jackson. Photograph: Department of JusticeRichard Branson and Jeffrey Epstein in a partially redacted photo released by the Department of Justice. Photograph: Department of JusticeBill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein. Photograph: Department of JusticeBill Clinton in a partially redacted photo released by the Department of Justice. Photograph: Department of JusticeChris Tucker and Bill Clinton in a partially redacted photo. Photograph: Department of JusticeBill Clinton with a woman whose face is redacted. Photograph: Department of JusticeMichael Jackson, Bill Clinton and Diana Ross, along with a fourth person whose face is redacted. Photograph: Department of JusticeBill Clinton pictured with a woman whose face is redacted. Photograph: Department of JusticeShare

Updated at 23.08 CET

More than 1,200 victims and their relatives identified, says Blanche

Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche has said that more than 1,200 victims and their families were found during the review of the documents, according to a letter to Congress obtained by Fox News, and that the justice department had redacted or withheld any materials that could reveal their identities.

In the letter, Blanche said:

This process resulted in over 1,200 names being identified as victims or their relatives. We have redacted reference to such names. In addition to redacting the names of these victims, we have also redacted and are not producing any materials that could result in their identification.

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Updated at 23.06 CET

On initial review, there are a striking number of photos featuring former president Bill Clinton.

The former US president can be seen in a pool with Ghislaine Maxwell in one photo, and in a hot tub with a person whose face is redacted in another.

A reminder that there is no suggestion of wrongdoing and Clinton has previously condemned Epstein and denied knowing anything of his conduct.

Bill Clinton swims in a pool with Ghislaine Maxwell. Photograph: US Justice Department/ReutersShare

Updated at 22.57 CET

White House says release demonstrates Trump administration’s transparency

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson has this statement on the release, calling the Trump administration “the most transparent in history”.

The Trump Administration is the most transparent in history. By releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, and President Trump recently calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, the Trump Administration has done more for the victims than Democrats ever have. And while President Trump is delivering on his promises, Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries and Stacey Plaskett have yet to explain why they were soliciting money and meetings from Epstein after he was a convicted sex offender. The American people deserve answers.

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Updated at 22.37 CET

There are a vast number of photos of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and others on trips in locations including Bali, Indonesia; Morocco and St Tropez, France.

As our reporters and editors comb through the files, many of the images are heavily redacted, in line with a requirement under the the Epstein Files Transparency Act to redact information that identified potential victims of Epstein or contained child sexual-abuse material. Under the law the justice department was also permitted to withhold material involved in active investigations.

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Updated at 22.27 CET

The material is sorted into four categories: court records, disclosures the justice department said it made under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and material released in response to freedom of information requests; and the records it released in September to the House oversight committee.

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Updated at 22.19 CET

DOJ says reasonable efforts taken to protect victims

The justice department has included this privacy notice on the website housing the documents, which it calls the “full Epstein library”:

In view of the Congressional deadline, all reasonable efforts have been made to review and redact personal information pertaining to victims, other private individuals, and protect sensitive materials from disclosure. That said, because of the volume of information involved, this website may nevertheless contain information that inadvertently includes non-public personally identifiable information or other sensitive content, to include matters of a sexual nature.

It also carries this warning:

Some of the library’s contents include descriptions of sexual assault. As such, please be advised that certain portions of this library may not be appropriate for all readers.

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Updated at 22.34 CET

The release of the files is broken up into four data sets, which we are now reviewing. You can find them here, here, here and here.

There are almost 4,000 files, totaling 3GB of photos and documents.

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Updated at 23.39 CET

Trump administration begins releasing long-awaited Epstein files

The US justice department has begun releasing the long-awaited “Epstein files”, after months of political wrangling, a popular furor and repeated attempts to deflect scrutiny over Donald Trump’s links to the late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The release comes after deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said that the justice department would release “several hundred thousand documents” from the Epstein files on Friday but hinted that some may be held back – at least temporarily – citing the need to protect victims.

“I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks,” he added.

House Democrats, led by Robert Garcia and Jamie Raskin, condemned the Trump administration’s delay to release all of the Epstein files as a violation of federal law and vowed to pursue legal options.

The scandal has dominated Washington for months, dogging the US president since his return to the White House for a second term, splintering his conservative base and spurring accusations of an attempted “cover-up” from across the political spectrum.

Some of the most sought-after material will pertain to the president’s relationship with Epstein, who killed himself in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges in 2019. Trump and Epstein were close friends for years before falling out.

Trump is not accused of any wrongdoing. But concerns have been raised about how, why and when his relationship with Epstein broke down, and how much Trump knew about Epstein’s conduct. Trump and his allies have denied that he knew about Epstein’s conduct, and no evidence has suggested that he took part in Epstein’s trafficking operation.

A projection on to a building near the White House demanding that Trump release the Epstein files. Photograph: Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/ShutterstockShare

Updated at 22.09 CET

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US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

A photo released by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement showing Kemal Mrndzic (right) on 2 November 1992

The US justice department has launched a civil legal case against a man accused of being a Bosnian war criminal to revoke his citizenship.

Kemal Mrndzic did not disclose during his US immigration process that he served as a guard at Bosnia’s notorious Celebici prison camp, where atrocities were committed, the department said.

A UN war crimes tribunal found that people held in the camp during the Bosnian war were killed, tortured, sexually assaulted, beaten and subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment.

US President Donald Trump’s administration would not allow people who “persecute others” to “reap the benefits of refuge in the US”, justice department official Brett Shumate said.

The assistant attorney general added that the legal case showed the value that the US government placed on “the integrity of its naturalisation process”.

Mrndzic was found guilty by a jury in October 2024 on several counts of criminal fraud and misrepresentation in relation to his successful application for a US passport and naturalisation certificate.

He failed to disclose to immigration authorities the nature and timing of his military service, or that “he persecuted Bosnian-Serb inmates as a prison guard”, the justice department said.

Mrndzic was sentenced in January 2025 to more than five years in prison.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

A set of photos that appear to show Kemal Mrndzic through the years, from 1992 to 2019, released by US officials

The Bosnian war followed the break-up of Soviet Yugoslavia in the early 1990s and led to the Srebrenica massacre in July 1995.

Srebrenica, recognised by the UN as a genocide, became known as Europe’s worst mass atrocity since World War Two, after Bosnian-Serb forces systematically murdered more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys.

The Celebici prison camp was operated by Bosniak and Bosnian-Croat forces, who were also responsible for widespread killings in areas they controlled.

Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic was tried for war crimes and genocide, and the massacre led to the US-brokered Dayton Peace Agreement on 14 December 1995.

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Skip next section Schumer: ‘Mountain of blacked out pages violates spirit of transparency’

12/20/2025December 20, 2025

Schumer: ‘Mountain of blacked out pages violates spirit of transparency’

Senate minority leader Chuck criticized the Justice Department for failing to release all the material in the Epstein files. 

“Simply releasing a mountain of blacked out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law,” he said in a statement. “For example, all 119 pages of one document were completely blacked out. We need answers as to why.”

The law passed by a large majority of Congress and signed by President Trump calls for the complete release of the Epstein files in a searchable format.

“Senate Democrats are working to assess the documents that have been released to determine what actions must be taken to hold the Trump administration accountable. We will pursue every option to make sure the truth comes out,” Schumer’s statement added.

https://p.dw.com/p/55k82

Skip next section White House hails release of Epstein files, takes aim at Democrats

12/19/2025December 19, 2025

White House hails release of Epstein files, takes aim at Democrats

The White House said the release of the Epstein files showed that President Donald Trump’s administration was the “most transparent in history,” while criticizing Democrats for ties to the late financier.

“By releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, and President Trump recently calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, the Trump Administration has done more for the victims than Democrats ever have,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.

Earlier on Friday, multiple Democratic Party lawmakers denounced the partial release of the files, accusing the Department of Justice of breaking the law by not releasing all documents.

https://p.dw.com/p/55k7G

Skip next section Justice Department discovered 1,200 victims in review — Blanche

12/19/2025December 19, 2025

Justice Department discovered 1,200 victims in review — Blanche

The Department of Justice had discovered over 1,200 victims and their families during an exhaustive review, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a letter to Congress published by the Fox broadcaster.

According to the letter, the department redacted the names of the victims, as well as information that could lead to their identification.

Prosecutors are able to withhold information related to active investigations.

In a privacy notice accompanying released files, the Department of Justice called for members of the public to notify authorities if they identify any information that should not have been posted.

https://p.dw.com/p/55k6i

Skip next section Four data sets released in Epstein files

12/19/2025December 19, 2025

Four data sets released in Epstein files

Some users faced a wait to access the Department of Justice websiteImage: Jonathan Ernst/REUTERS

The Department of Justice has released four data sets containing files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

You can view the files here, here, here and here on the Department of Justice’s  website for what it calls the “Epstein Library.”

https://p.dw.com/p/55k6H

Skip next section Justice Department begins releasing Epstein files

12/19/2025December 19, 2025

Justice Department begins releasing Epstein files

The US Justice Department has begun releasing files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

The documents are expected to reveal further details on Epstein’s connections to powerful people, including politicians and business figures.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said earlier in the day that several hundred thousand documents would be released on Friday.

https://p.dw.com/p/55k3S

Skip next section What is the deadline for the Epstein files’ release?

12/19/2025December 19, 2025

What is the deadline for the Epstein files’ release?

Documents related to Jeffrey Epstein are to be released by the Justice Department by midnight local time (0500 UTC).

The deadline is stipulated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump on November 19 after a near-unanimous vote in Congress.

https://p.dw.com/p/55k1h

Skip next section Blanche says not all Epstein files to be released on Friday

12/19/2025December 19, 2025

Blanche says not all Epstein files to be released on Friday

US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said that not all documents related to Jeffrey Epstein will be released on Friday despite a legal deadline calling for just that.

Blanche told the conservative Fox News broadcaster that several hundred thousand documents would be released on Friday.

“Over the next couple of weeks … I expect several hundred thousand more” will be released, Blanche said.

Blanche’s comments were met with fierce criticism by multiple lawmakers.

“The Trump administration had 30 days to release ALL the Epstein files, not just some. Failing to do so is breaking the law,” the leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, said in a statement.

Democratic lawmakers Jamie Raskin and Robert Garcia released a joint statement accusing Trump and the Department of Justice of “violating federal law,” adding that they were “examining all legal options” to deal with the alleged violation.

Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, who announced late last month she would resign in January over disagreements with the Trump administration, also urged the release of all of the files.

“My goodness, what is in the Epstein files? Release all the files. It’s literally the law,” she said in a post on X.

Delays in Epstein file release weigh on MAGA movement

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Skip next section Welcome to our coverage12/19/2025December 19, 2025

Welcome to our coverage

A deadline is approaching for the US Justice Department to release documents related to late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The deadline was established by The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law by US President Donald Trump in late November after the bill passed Congress in a near-unanimous vote.

Democratic lawmakers published 68 images from the Epstein estate ahead of the deadline.

Releasing documents related to Epstein was one of Trump’s campaign promises during the November 2024 election, which he later attempted to downplay early in his term, a move that sparked an outcry from his own base.

Stay with us for DW’s coverage of the Epstein-related documents and their release.

https://p.dw.com/p/55k1M

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Thousands of documents from investigations into Jeffrey Epstein have finally been released by Donald Trump’s administration after months of public pressure.

While an initial round of long-awaited documents includes a vast library of salacious images and photographs of high-profile figures, it remains unclear whether they shed any new light on Epstein’s crimes and his alleged connections to a sex trafficking ring implicating prominent officials who exploited and abused young girls.

Disclosures related to the Epstein Files Transparency Act include hundreds of undated photographs, including from inside Epstein’s Manhattan apartment and on his private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Photographs submitted by law enforcement investigating the inside of his New York property include sex toys and costumes, images of women exposing themselves, folders full of photographs of nearly naked women, and nude paintings and sculptures of women’s breasts.

Epstein, a wealthy and well-connected financier and convicted sex offender, is accused of trafficking women and girls as young as 14 years old. His death in jail awaiting trial on trafficking charges in 2019 was ruled a suicide.

open image in gallery

(Department of Justice)

Last month, after growing demands for a full public accounting of Epstein’s alleged abuse, the president reluctantly signed legislation compelling the Department of Justice, FBI and U.S. attorney’s offices to publish everything in their possession by December 19.

The Justice Department launched a public-facing website Friday afternoon. But Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche acknowledged that not all of the materials required under law have been released, and government lawyers are scrambling to make necessary redactions. More than 200 attorneys helped review the documents, Blanche wrote to members of Congress.

More than 1,200 names were identified as either victims or their relatives, according to Blanche. Those names are being redacted. “Protecting victims is of the highest priority” for the Trump administration, he wrote.

open image in gallery

(Department of Justice)

open image in gallery

(Department of Justice)

But the “final stages of review” remain ongoing and will be completed within “the next two weeks,” he said.

Democrats have threatened legal action to force the immediate release of all of the so-called Epstein files, which have consumed Trump’s second term thus far as he faces renewed scrutiny into his years-long relationship to the sex offender.

Photos with celebrities and Bill Clinton

The latest batch of documents includes intimate photographs of Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as photographs with the pair alongside Michael Jackson and Mick Jagger, among others.

Former President Bill Clinton is captured in dozens of images, including in an undated photograph showing him lounging in a hot tub alongside someone whose face has been redacted.

open image in gallery

(Department of Justice)

open image in gallery

(Department of Justice)

He is also pictured on a private plane with a woman sitting on his lap. That woman’s face has also been redacted.

A painted portrait of Clinton in a blue dress, lounging in an armchair, also was photographed hanging in Epstein’s New York apartment.

open image in gallery

(Department of Justice)

Clinton has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and the mere inclusion of someone’s name or images in files does not imply otherwise.

Heavy redactions and failed search functions

Under the recently passed transparency law, the Justice Department was required to publish the documents on a website and make them downloadable and searchable.

But the search function did not turn up any results for “Epstein,” let along other prominent names that appeared throughout.

The files also include investigative materials and grand jury documents from several cases against Epstein and Maxwell, including what appear to be interviews with victims, though a substantial portion of those documents are redacted.

White House defends partial release as Democrats demand ‘the truth’

Following the release of the documents, the White House claimed the Trump administration has “done more for the victims than Democrats ever have.”

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the partial release, noting that the heavily redacted batch of documents reflects only a “fraction of the whole body of evidence.”

“Senate Democrats are working to assess the documents that have been released to determine what actions must be taken to hold the Trump administration accountable,” he said in a statement. “We will pursue every option to make sure the truth comes out.”

Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, among House Democrats who pushed for the release of the full files, suggested that he believes administration is “hiding things.”

“Let the country know what they can expect,” he told reporters. “They have not been transparent, and that’s why that’s people’s biggest concern on this, that they’re hiding things.”

He said House Democrats could hold impeachment hearings for Blanche and Attorney General Pam Bondi “if it comes to that.”

Maria Farmer, the first woman to file a criminal complaint against Epstein said in a statement that she has “waited three decades, over half my life,” for this moment.

“When I was ignored and hung up on by the FBI in 1996, my world turned upside down and I felt frozen in time,” she said. “I faced death threats, ridicule and mockery by some of the most powerful people on earth.”

She said she is hopeful she can “pick up where I left off at age 26.”

“I am also hopeful that this will be an important step for many of the survivors and to hold the government accountable for their grotesque law enforcement failure, one of the largest in U.S. history,” she added.

This is a developing story

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NEED TO KNOW

• The first four episodes of the new docuseries Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour | The End of an Era are streaming now on Disney+
• The fourth episode recounts how dancer Whyley Yoshimura joined Swift and a group of all-female dancers for a performance of “…Ready For It?”
• In the docuseries, Yoshimura says that he’s “honored that I get to share the stage with someone who sees me — and not only sees me, she celebrates me”

In the middle of an Eras Tour show, Taylor Swift let one of her dancers fulfill one of his dreams.

During a New Orleans stop of her record-breaking tour, the pop superstar approved her dancer Whyley Yoshimura to join the all-female group of dancers during their performance of “…Ready For It?” in 2024.

“I just remember watching it be created and just living in perpetual envy the whole tour,” Yoshimura says in the fourth episode of Swift’s new Disney+ docuseries, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour | The End of an Era. He later adds, “I just love performing and doing really dope moves to really dope music. The feeling of the song and the lyrics, it’s a monumental number. So from the beginning, it was my favorite piece.”

Whyley Yoshimura at the October 2023 premiere of the ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ concert film.

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

In behind-the-scenes footage in the episode, Yoshimura can be seen practicing with Amanda Balen, the tour’s dance captain and associate choreographer, before she lets him try on her Reputation-era bodysuit — then ask Swift for permission for him to replace her for the night’s performance. After seeing phone footage of Yoshimura rehearsing, Swift doesn’t hesitate before saying, “Yes, hundred percent. That’s amazing.”

“Whyley, as a dancer and a performer, he can really channel that kind of, like, sexy, femme side of himself. Whyley wanting to be in ‘…Ready For It?’ was just like so refreshing, so I was like, of course,” Swift, 36, later explains of her decision.

As he hit the stage, Yoshimura’s fellow dancers who weren’t onstage cheered him on from the audience, smiling and filming him as he hit every step.

A Hawaii native, Yoshimura began dancing at age 7 and found confidence through the art form because, “I wasn’t the typical masculine local boy,” he says — and Swift’s simple approval of him stepping in for the performance that night was a significant gesture.

Swift performing on the Eras Tour with her dancers, including Whyley Yoshimura (far left), in May 2024 in Paris.

Kevin Mazur/TAS24/Getty 

When Yoshimura got into the dance industry in 2007, “You had to like fit into a certain stereotype,” he says. “I was always told, ‘Whyley, you’re great, but you flip your hair too much’ or ‘You’re too feminine.’ That stuck with me through different jobs, being told different things about my appearance.”

Adds Yoshimura, “This job, no one told me I needed to be buff. Taylor never made me cut my hair. I wear different color eye shadows in different nights. It’s been almost 150 shows, and Taylor not has once said, ‘Whyley, please stop doing that.’ Never. I have never been filtered as a person of who I present myself on stage with her and neither has any of my coworkers, and that may seem so small, but as a dancer who has been told to change, to filter himself for almost 20 years, it is one of the most meaningful things to me. It is so empowering. It is so loving. It is so enriching and so much fun.”

Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour with her dancers, including Whyley Yoshimura (left), in London in June 2024.

Kevin Mazur/Getty

Elsewhere in the docuseries, Swift opened up about the importance of inclusivity in her crew on the tour.

“You know, with this tour, we’re not very like…We’re not trying to make any points about gender, but we just don’t really have any kind of restrictions. We got guys in heels and leotards and stuff, and we just don’t really think too hard about it, right? If you look at ‘Look What You Made Me Do,’ you have women and men dressed up in my former costumes,” she says. “We just don’t really overthink it. And I think that’s just one of the most things about, you know, the way we’ve approached this tour. We overthink certain things; we let some things just kind of…just be naturally individualistic in terms of our casting and our dancers’ expression.”

Growing emotional in a confessional interview for the show, Yoshimura says he was “so honored” that Swift herself trusted him.

“But I’m even more honored that I get to share the stage with someone who sees me — and not only sees me, she celebrates me,” he says. “She looks at me on the left…and she had, like, the biggest smile on her face and the shiniest sparkle in her eye. It’s not really that often where a male dancer can do, like, a female swinging part and even be allowed, like, flourish as much as he wants in that part. I wanna be that example for anyone, any person — male, female, non-binary — I want them to feel seen, just like how I felt seen by Taylor.”

The first four episodes of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour | The End of an Era are streaming now on Disney+. The six-part docuseries offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the record-shattering tour came together and also highlights stories from Swift’s dancers, musicians and crew. The final two episodes of The End of an Era will begin streaming Dec. 23 on Disney+.

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Bill Clinton was seen frolicking in a swimming pool with Ghislaine Maxwell and partying with Michael Jackson in bombshell images from the latest Epstein files release. 

The former president appeared numerous times in files released on Friday, including enjoying swimming with Maxwell and a woman whose face was redacted.  

In one image, Clinton was seen relaxing in a hot tub, and in another he swam with convicted sex trafficker Maxwell in a swimming pool. 

Michael Jackson was seen in another image smiling alongside Epstein, as well as with actor Kevin Spacey. 

In undated images from a dinner party attended by Epstein, rock legend Mick Jagger was seen enjoying a meal with the convicted sex trafficker, Maxwell and Clinton. 

Ahead of the files release, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche drew scrutiny as he suggested some materials could be withheld for weeks. 

Although Blanche told Fox & Friends that the DOJ is ‘going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks’, the delay meant that the administration may violate a law signed by Trump in November ordering the full release of all unclassified materials about Epstein in the DOJ’s possession within 30 days. 

The latest files release on Friday comes after two prior releases this week, which showed Epstein and a number of rich and powerful individuals including Bill Gates, Woody Allen and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – formerly Prince Andrew.  

Bill Clinton was seen frolicking in a swimming pool with Ghislaine Maxwell in bombshell images from the latest Epstein files release

Epstein was also seen cozying up to Bill Clinton in the image release on Friday 

Rock legend Mick Jagger was pictured enjoying a dinner with Clinton and Epstein 

Former President Bill Clinton and Mick Jagger seen with a redacted woman 

Epstein seen with Michael Jackson in an undated photograph

Bill Clinton and Michael Jackson smile in an undated image from Friday’s release

In other images from Thursday’s release, Epstein was seen surrounded by a group of women as he sat behind a desk.

One set of photographs showed an unidentified woman’s body parts inscribed with quotes from Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita, a novel about a middle-aged man’s sexual obsession with a young girl, which is also pictured in the background.

In another image released on December 12, a younger-looking Bill Gates is seen smiling next to a man who appears to be Epstein’s longtime pilot Larry Visoski.

A picture of a dinner shows Epstein flanked by Allen, businessman Thomas Pritzker and former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak as magician David Blaine appears to perform for them.

Also among those photographed is famous linguistics professor Noam Chomsky, who is pictured alongside Epstein on a private flight. The photos do not implicate any of the individuals in Epstein’s crimes. 

In images from the previous files release on Thursday, Epstein was seen surrounded by a group of women as he sat behind a desk

Microsoft founder Bill Gates was also seen standing with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – formerly Prince Andrew in the files release earlier this week 

Among those photographed is famous linguistics professor Noam Chomsky, who is pictured alongside Epstein on a private flight

Epstein is seen on a private jet with an unidentified young woman sitting next to him

The latest Epstein files release show a woman’s chest and back with Lolita quotes scrawled across them

A woman’s foot is seen with a quote from Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita – with the novel pictured in the background

In one image released on December 12, Bill Gates appears to pose up with Epstein’s longtime pilot Larry Visoski

A screenshot of texts from an unknown sender seems to refer to an 18-year-old from Russia

Disturbing pictures from the latest release also show a woman’s chest with a Lolita quote scrawled across it.

‘Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth,’ it reads, while another shows a woman’s back with the words ‘She was Dolores on the dotted line’, another quote from the controversial novel.

Epstein’s notorious private jet, which ferried him and VIP guests to his infamous island and around the world, was nicknamed the Lolita Express.

Passengers on the $80 million Boeing 727-100 included Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and Andrew, according to recently released flight logs. 

Another image from the latest release shows a Ukrainian passport belonging to a woman, with all identifying information blacked out.

Meanwhile a screenshot of text messages from an unknown sender seems to refer to an 18-year-old from Russia and mentions a person asking for ‘1000$ per girl’.

‘I will send u girls now,’ one of the messages reads, followed by another which says: ‘Maybe someone will be good for J?’

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It is the day when President Putin becomes Primetime Putin.

For a marathon four-and-a-half hours, his annual end-of-year TV address was given uninterrupted coverage on all of Russia’s main channels.

The questions come from both the press and the public.

The point is to reassure Russians that their leader has everything under control. That he’s plugged into their problems, and will find a solution.

Image:
Pic: Reuters

The first question came from the moderator, and said a lot about the current mood here: “When will there be peace?”

Judging by Putin‘s answer, not anytime soon.

Although he said Russia wants peace and is willing to agree to a deal, he also said any deal must “address the root causes” of the conflict. In other words, still no sign of compromise.

According to him, the ball is in Kyiv’s court. He blames Ukraine for the lack of a settlement.

Unsurprisingly, he sounded smug when he spoke about the EU’s decision to borrow cash to help fund Ukraine rather than use frozen Russian assets.

He accused Brussels of trying to commit “daylight robbery” and gloated that the bloc’s image as an asset safe haven had now been damaged.

But not everything is going his way when it comes to the war.

During his address, news broke of Ukraine’s unprecedented drone attack on a Russian oil tanker in the Mediterranean.

Only moments earlier, he was talking about his forces’ supremacy and the possibility of new successes on the battlefield. But Kyiv continues to find new ways to cause Moscow problems, in this case more than 1,000 miles from the fighting.

Read more:
Russia trying to ‘bully’ UK, says new MI6 chief
Putin preparing for more war

Image:
Russians watch a broadcast of Vladimir Putin’s annual news conference. Pic: Reuters

At home, too, there was more than a hint of discontent from the ordinary citizens who sent in questions for the “Direct Line” event. One text message that flashed up on the big screen read “not a direct line but a circus”.

The most common theme the public asked about was the cost of living.

From the price of chicken to stagnating wages, from rising VAT to state support for young families, it’s clear the creaking economy is a major concern.

So did Putin succeed? Do Russians feel reassured? It didn’t sound like it, listening to those questions. Nearly four years of war have clearly come at a cost.

But it also didn’t sound like Russia’s leader will alter his course anytime soon.

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NewsFeed

Sheltered under a worn-out, nylon tent and four blankets, 29-day-old Saeed could not survive winter in Gaza. Medical officials are warning that more tragedies like this will happen if living conditions do not improve soon for Gaza’s families this winter.

Published On 19 Dec 202519 Dec 2025

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The food situation in Gaza remains “critical” despite somewhat eased conditions due to improved access to humanitarian aid, a UN-backed hunger monitor warned on Friday.

“No areas are classified in Famine,” the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) said in a report.

“The situation remains critical.”

It said that over 70% of the Gaza Strip’s population lived in makeshift shelters, with many facing an increased risk of hypothermia due to falling winter temperatures. Camps for displaced people in Gaza have been flooded in recent days due torrential rains.

UN agencies warned of ‘alarmingly high’ levels of hunger in GazaImage: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo/picture alliance

Gaza faces ’emergency’ levels of hunger

The IPC report said that the entire territory remained classified as “Emergency,” with UN agencies stressing that the scale of destruction of agricultural destruction, hunger, malnutrition and disease remained “alarmingly high.”

The agencies stressed that despite improved access to aid since a ceasefire came into effect on October 10, assistance is still insufficient.

“Humanitarian needs remain staggering, with current assistance addressing only the most basic survival requirements,” the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN’s agriculture agency (FAO) said in a joint statement.

The agencies called for a substantial increase in aid to the Gaza Strip, saying: “Only access, supplies and funding at scale can prevent famine from returning.”

Around 1.6 million people are forecast to face “crisis” levels of food insecurity up to April 15, according to the IPC report.

The IPC declared that famine had broken out in Gaza City in August.

Trump’s Gaza truce plan stalls over key sticking points

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Israel-Hamas ceasefire yet to enter second phase

The announcement comes against the backdrop of a shaky US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group, with the both parties accusing each other of near-daily violations of the truce.

The first phase of the ceasefire is close to completion, with the remains of one hostage taken in the October 7, 2023 terror attacks by Hamas still in Gaza.

Earlier this month, mediators Qatar and Egypt called for the next step to be taken in the three-phase agreement.

The second phase stipulates a withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of the Gaza Strip, with an interim authority taking control of the territory and an international stabilization force being deployed.

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with senior officials from Egypt, Turkey and Qatar in Miami on Friday to discuss the second phase of the Gaza plan. 

Edited: Wesley Dockery

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