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The U.S. Justice Department on Friday released draft emails written by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that contain unverified claims involving US President Donald Trump, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and other high-profile figures.
The documents, part of the latest tranche of files tied to federal investigations into Epstein, include numerous email exchanges between Epstein and Musk, as well as draft messages Epstein wrote to himself alleging misconduct by Gates.
The department said the materials include "untrue and sensational" claims and stressed that many allegations were unverified.
The files include exchanges between Epstein and Musk discussing possible meetings.
In November 2012, Epstein emailed Musk, asking, “How many people will you be for the heli to the island?”
“Probably just Talulah and me. What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?” Musk replied, referring to his then-partner, actress Tallulah Riley.
In a December 2013 email, Musk wrote that he would be in the British Virgin Islands and asked if there was “a good time to visit” Epstein's Island. Epstein replied that there was “always space for you.”
The documents also include draft emails Epstein wrote to himself in July 2013, addressed to “Bill,” alleging that Gates contracted a sexually transmitted disease from “Russian girls” during a visit to Epstein's private island, Little Saint James.
According to the draft email, Epstein alleged that Gates sought antibiotics without his wife's knowledge after the incident.
Epstein wrote that Gates asked him to obtain “antibiotics” that could be given “surreptitiously” to his then-wife, Melinda Gates, amid fears he had contracted an STD following encounters with Russian girls.
“During the past few weeks, I have been caught up in a severe marital dispute between Melinda and Bill,” Epstein wrote in the email.
He claimed that, as Gates’ “right hand,” he had been asked on multiple occasions to take part in actions that were “morally inappropriate” and “ethically unsound,” and at times “near and potentially over the line into the illegal.”
“From helping Bill to get drugs, to dealing with consequences of sex with russian girls, to facilitating his illicit trysts with married women, to being asked to provide adderall [for] bridge [tournaments] . I feel I owe it to my friends and future [sic] colleagues to admit a moral failure , to ask forgiveness and to move on with my life,” Epstein wrote.
It remains unclear whether the messages were ever sent to Gates or reflect verified events.
“These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false,” a spokesperson for Gates was quoted by several media outlets as saying. Gates has previously acknowledged meeting Epstein but described the association as a “huge mistake.”
In a separate statement to The New York Times, the Gates Foundation denied claims that Gates engaged in extramarital affairs, saying, “These claims—from a proven, disgruntled liar—are absolutely absurd and completely false.”
The release also includes an FBI-compiled list of sexual assault allegations related to President Donald Trump, many of them involving anonymous callers and unverified tips.
The allegations, some secondhand, were sent to the FBI National Threat Operations Center, which receives information by phone and electronically.
The documents indicate that investigators followed up on a number of tips, while others were deemed to lack credibility. Trump has long denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
In a statement accompanying Friday's release, the Justice Department said, “Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the White House played no role in the review of the extensive Epstein files.
“They did not tell this department how to do our review, what to look for, what to redact, or what to not redact,” Blanche said at a press conference.
The Justice Department said some documents being released contained “untrue and sensationalist claims” about the 79-year-old Trump submitted to the FBI before the 2020 presidential election.
Blanche, who previously served as Trump's personal lawyer, rejected suggestions that embarrassing material about the president had been redacted from the release of more than three million documents, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos.
“We did not protect President Trump,” he said. “We didn’t protect or not protect anybody.”
Blanche said all images of girls and women were being redacted, aside from those of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of trafficking underage girls for Epstein and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
A statement from survivors of Epstein's alleged abuse said identifying information about them still remained in the files, “while the men who abused us remain hidden and protected.”
The letter, signed by 19 individuals, some using aliases or initials, demanded “the full release of the Epstein files” and called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to directly address the issue when she testifies before Congress next month.
A wealthy US financier, Epstein, died in a New York prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving underage girls. His death was ruled a suicide.
Previous document releases have detailed Epstein's ties to prominent business executives, celebrities, academics and politicians, including Trump and former President Bill Clinton. Neither Trump nor Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing.
In other emails included in the latest release, Epstein connected Steve Tisch, 76, producer of the movies “Forrest Gump” and “Risky Business” and co-owner of the New York Giants football team, with multiple women.
In one exchange with Tisch, Epstein described a woman as “Russian and rarely tells the full truth, but fun.”
Trump's right-wing base has long focused on the Epstein case, fueling conspiracy theories that the financier ran a sex-trafficking ring for global elites.
Only one person—Epstein's former girlfriend Maxwell—has been charged in connection with his crimes. Blanche appeared to downplay expectations that the latest release would lead to additional prosecutions.
A Republican-led House panel recently voted to launch contempt of Congress proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton over their refusal to testify before it probed into Epstein.
Trump, who once moved in the same social circles as Epstein in Florida and New York, had sought to block the release of the documents but later signed a law mandating their disclosure after a rebellion within his Republican Party.
He has given varying accounts of why he fell out with Epstein and has criticized the file releases, warning that people who “innocently met” Epstein risk having their reputations damaged.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act required the Justice Department to publish all related documents by Dec. 19.
Blanche said Friday's release “marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people,” citing the need to protect the identities of over 1,000 alleged victims.
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