Epstein Files: 11 Disturbing Discoveries in the Latest Document Release | Vanity Fair

When thousands of new documents from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation were released on Friday evening, journalists and citizen investigators across the nation were greeted by one of the most reassuring phrases in the English language: “CSAM NOT SCANNED.” CSAM, an abbreviation for child sexual abuse material, is the current law enforcement term for what might previously be known as child pornography. Seeing the term dozens of times across the 3 gigabytes of new Epstein material is a sign that the FBI has more specific documentation of the late abusers’ crimes, but the bureau will not be disseminating it.

The remaining array of photographs and heavily redacted documents provide more insight into Epstein’s relationships with celebrities, along with detritus from the FBI’s years-long investigation. The 2019 searches of his townhome on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and compound on Little St. James island in the Caribbean yielded numerous pictures, and those have been made public with very few redactions. In these images, framed photos presumably showing victims are obscured.

The releases also contain numerous photos from Epstein’s personal collection, including photos from a Rolling Stones concert and one that shows Epstein posing with Michael Jackson. There are photos that show him cuddling with Ghislaine Maxwell as they visit haute locations like St. Tropez and Brunei, and others that show him shooting guns on his Zorro Ranch property in New Mexico. The CSAM disclaimer appears most frequently in these sections, along with a few photos of disembodied female buttocks, presumably belonging to known adults.

And while the FBI withheld the worst of its Epstein material, there are still plenty of unpleasant sights to be seen for anyone with the stomach to dig through. Here, Vanity Fair looks at them so you don’t have to:

Epstein had an abiding interest in race science, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that a desk at his home on Little St. James prominently displays the sort of white phrenology bust you would find in the possession of a 19th-century eugenicist.

When the DOJ gave Fox News an early selection of files, the department led with photos of the former Democratic president—including one where Clinton is shirtless, reclining in a hot tub. Political motivations aside, it’s not hard to tell why the Trump administration might have wanted to foreground this image. There are thousands of pictures in Friday’s drop, but it really is one of the strangest.

(In response, Clinton’s spokesperson, Angel Ureña, suggested that the Trump Justice Department’s political aims explain the inclusion of the photo. “There are two types of people here. The first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light,” he said. “The second group continued relationships with him after. We’re in the first. No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that.”)

There may be no CSAM, but the drop still includes plenty of figurative art featuring children. Epstein’s townhouse had a life-size bronze sculpture of a little boy on a stairwell landing. He had a Henry Darger–esque painting of other nude children frolicking in a bedroom.

You can’t find the energy to run an unimaginably large sex-trafficking scheme without indulging in a bit of self-care every now and then. There are a few photos showing Epstein as he kicks back and indulges in a spa day. The nastiest one of them is a close-up of his face slathered in a bile green mask.

Epstein’s townhouse, which was constructed in the 19th century, had very little inside that referenced the opulence of the Gilded Age. But one sitting room was decorated with period details. The decor looks nice enough that you might miss its creepiest touches—like a taxidermy tiger in repose, and what definitely looks like a stuffed dog in an active pose.

One piece of paper in the files shows notes from a message that Brunel left for Epstein on April 4, 2005. “He spoke to the doctor about your symptoms,” it read. “It can be cured but you have to move.” The message ends with a stern warning—failure to heed this might lead to results “which can shorten your sex life.”

The erstwhile couple seemed to have plenty of downtime on Epstein’s private jet while they traveled from place to place. There are plenty of photos that show them getting a little silly, but the weirdest one is a close-up of Maxwell grabbing Epstein’s feet and stuffing his toes down the front of her blouse.

The FBI search of the townhome uncovered a letter from someone named Steven from Buffalo, New York, which reads like a perverted pep talk to cheer Epstein up before he faces consequences for his crimes.

“I hate that you got into this mess with these girls over the years. These girls new [sic] what they were doing you didn’t put a gun to there [sic] head. But you have to watch it to [sic], all rich people are targets in this world,” it reads. “A lot of these girls who you dealt with is or was runaways in the first place.”

Victims have spoken about a massage room inside the late financier’s townhome. The images show one shelf filled with intimate lubricants in various shapes and sizes, and another with a selection of lotions and massage oils.

There was a vibrator drawer at the townhouse, but in the photos from Little St. James, you can also spot a Hitachi massager just sitting out on a countertop.

Multiple rooms in both of Epstein’s houses featured framed photos of what look to be young girls. We can presume that they are known victims, because their faces are all blacked out. In addition, Epstein kept scrapbooks with photos of victims along with collages and other art they left behind.

These images are viscerally disgusting—the clearest reminder of just how many women Epstein victimized, and how unrepentant Epstein seemed to be about his crimes. It’s hard to imagine that any of the powerful people who entered his homes didn’t look at those photos and have a hint that something odd was going on.

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