The U.S. agency has reportedly failed to find sufficient evidence to corroborate claims that the disgraced financier ‘lent out’ girls to his acquaintances
The Associated Press has reported that the FBI has found no evidence suggesting disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein operated a sex-trafficking ring.
In 2019, Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges—he had been convicted in 2008 of soliciting a minor for prostitution. His death was ruled a suicide, but it sparked speculation that he was killed to prevent testimony implicating the numerous powerful figures he fraternized and did business with.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice released over 3 million pages of documents from the Epstein Estate, around 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images—along with details of his connections to prominent political, business, and tech leaders including Elon Musk, Bill Clinton, and Bill Gates.
In a Sunday article, the AP reported that after years of scouring Epstein’s bank records and emails, and searching his properties, the FBI “found scant evidence the well-connected financier led a sex trafficking ring serving powerful men.”
Citing a “review of internal Justice Department records,” the AP stated that U.S. federal authorities had recovered proof implicating solely Epstein and his partner Ghislaine Maxwell in the sexual exploitation and abuse of victims, including underage girls.
In an email dated July 2025, FBI agents reportedly said that “four or five” victims claimed other men or women had sexually abused them. However, there “was not enough evidence to federally charge these individuals,” according to the AP.
In February 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Epstein’s “client list” was “sitting on my desk right now.” But according to the AP, an FBI supervisory special agent wrote several days prior that “investigators did not locate such a list during the course of the investigation.”
Last July, the DOJ officially stated that authorities had found no evidence of an “incriminating client list.” The reversal unleashed a backlash from multiple Republican lawmakers and prominent commentators. U.S. President Donald Trump—who had previously claimed the “client list” existed—backed the DOJ’s conclusion, branding skeptics “stupid people.”