Sister of Epstein victim reported him in 1996, but FBI failed to investigate, files reveal

Maria Farmer, whose sister Annie was abused by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, says Epstein ‘stole’ nude images

While Donald Trump’s justice department did not deliver on a legal requirement to disclose all Jeffrey Epstein-related files by Friday, one document in an otherwise underwhelming disclosure lifted the veil on authorities’ inaction – and its dire consequences for dozens of teen girls.

That document is an FBI report from Maria Farmer, a painter who worked for Epstein around 1996.

Farmer, whose sister Annie Farmer was abused by Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell at age 16, told authorities in 1996 that the late financier “stole” nude images of her siblings.

Farmer reported Epstein’s behavior with these photographs, but the FBI has never openly recognized that she made such a report, according to the New York Times. The newspaper also noted how an internal investigation into the justice department’s handling of Epstein’s case did not mention this report.

The police report states that “Complainant [Maria Farmer] stated that she is a professional artist and took pictures of her sisters 12 and 16 yrs for her own [personal] Art Work”.

“Epstein Stole the photos and Negatives and is believed to have sold the pictures to potential buyers,” it adds.

The report also stated that Epstein requested “pictures of young girls at swimming pools” and threatened Farmer, saying “that if she tells anyone about the photos he will burn her house down”.

It’s unclear what, if anything, the FBI did with that report. It is clear, however, that Epstein continued to abuse girls for years after Maria Farmer brought him to law enforcement’s attention.

Indeed, Epstein did not face prosecution related to abusing teen girls until the mid-2000s. The FBI declined the Guardian’s request for comment.

Maria Farmer, through her attorney Jennifer Freeman of Marsh Law, said she was “shedding tears of joy for myself but also tears of sorrow for all of the other victims that the FBI failed”.

Freeman, who is representing Maria Farmer in her lawsuit against the federal government, said in a statement: “What’s new today is finally getting the FBI report of Maria Farmer from 1996 – this is triumph and tragedy for Maria and so many survivors.”

“Maria Farmer reported Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes in 1996. Had the government done their job, and properly investigated Maria’s report, over 1000 victims could have been spared and 30 years of trauma avoided,” Freeman also said. “After several years of asking for her records, the [government] finally released at least some of them today.”

Annie Farmer testified at Maxwell’s 2021 trial that she was just 16 years-old when the British publishing heiress gave her a nude massage at Epstein’s New Mexico ranch.

During Annie Farmer’s time on the witness stand, she described how Epstein and Maxwell groomed her for abuse – including using an unwitting Maria Farmer as a means of access. She recalled meeting Epstein at his Manhattan mansion in late 1995, when her sister Maria was working for him as a fine arts painter.

Epstein bought a plane ticket to New York for Annie Farmer, who said she was told by her sister that Epstein was potentially “interested in helping me with my education”. When she first went to Epstein’s house with Maria Farmer, it was to pick up theater tickets he had purchased for them.

“He seemed very friendly and kind of down to earth. He was dressed casually,” Annie Farmer testified. The next time Annie Farmer met Epstein was when they went to the movies with him and her sister Maria.

He sat between them and, at one point during the movie, Epstein “caressed” her hand. “He was rubbing the bottom of my shoe and then rubbing my foot, my leg,” Annie Farmer said. “I was very nervous.”

Annie Farmer explained that she did not tell Maria as her older sister was “very protective” and she didn’t want to affect her job with Epstein. But in spring 1996, Annie Farmer’s mother told her that she was going on a weekend trip to Epstein’s New Mexico ranch.

Annie Farmer said she was a little more at ease after finding out that a woman –Maxwell – would be there and assumed that this was Epstein’s girlfriend. Following several trips into town, “it was decided that I would learn how to give Epstein a foot massage and Maxwell would show me how to rub his feet”.

“I watched what she was doing, and she was instructing me. I did what she told me,” Annie Farmer recalled. “I felt very uncomfortable. I wanted to stop.”

Maxwell, Annie Farmer said, asked if she’d ever had a professional massage: “She said she wanted me to have that experience and would be happy to give me a massage.”

Maxwell told Annie Farmer to undress. She complied and got under a sheet that was on a massage table.

“She pulled the sheet down and exposed my breasts, and started rubbing on my chest and on my upper breast,” Annie Farmer said. “I just wanted so badly to get off the table.”

When Annie Farmer woke up the next day, Epstein “bounded into the room, saying he wanted to cuddle”.

“He climbed into bed with me,” Annie said. “He pressed his body into me.” She escaped Epstein by telling him she had to use the restroom.

In the years following Maria Farmer’s report, accusers’ accounts and court documents indicate that Epstein’s abuse persisted. When Epstein was arrested in 2019, prosecutors alleged that he “sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls” from 2002 to 2005 at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida.

The 2008 plea deal that allowed Epstein to plead guilty to state-level prostitution charges in Florida, came during a federal investigation that involved at least 40 teenage girls.

During a CNN interview after the document was released, Annie Farmer pointed out that numerous girls were abused after her sister came forward.

“And just to see it in writing and to know that they had this document this entire time,” Annie Farmer said, “and how many people were harmed after that date, it just, you know, we’ve been saying it over and over, but to see it in black and white that way, has been very emotional.”

“I still have the questions about, did they not take it seriously,” she also said about the FBI, “or were they protecting Epstein because of whatever relationship he had with the government. There’s just so many questions and why we hope for more transparency.”

Donald Trump’s name reported to feature in DoJ files about Jeffrey Epstein

Wall Street Journal report says president’s name appears ‘multiples times’ as Congress subpoenas Ghislaine Maxwell

Donald Trump faced a fresh crisis on Wednesday as it was reported that his name appears in US justice department files about Jeffrey Epstein and the Congress subpoenaed testimony from the sex offender’s partner in crime Ghislaine Maxwell.

The US president’s spokesman denied an account in the Wall Street Journal newspaper that Trump was told in May by the attorney general, Pam Bondi, that he is named in the now notorious Epstein files.

Citing senior administration officials, the Journal said Trump was also informed that many other high-profile figures were named and the department did not plan to release any more documents related to the investigation.

The White House sought to downplay the relationship between Trump and Epstein. Spokesperson Steven Cheung said in an emailed statement: “The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep. This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media.”

Trump filed a $10bn defamation lawsuit against the Journal and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, last week over an article about an alleged sexually suggestive letter bearing Trump’s name that was included in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein’s birthday. The president has denied writing the letter and has since sued the Journal.

The White House subsequently banned one of the Journal’s reporters from Air Force One for an upcoming trip to Scotland.

The justice department concluded earlier this month that there was not a basis to continue the Epstein investigation, triggering a fierce backlash among Trump’s support base over what they have long seen as a cover-up of Epstein’s crimes and high-level connections.

It has also fuelled speculation about Trump’s 15-year friendship with Epstein. In June Elon Musk, a billionaire friend-turned-foe of the president, tweeted that Trump is “in the Epstein files”.

The Journal reported on Wednesday: “When justice department officials reviewed what attorney general Pam Bondi called a ‘truckload’ of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein earlier this year, they discovered that Donald Trump’s name appeared multiple times.”

Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, said in a statement: “Nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution, and we have filed a motion in court to unseal the underlying grand jury transcripts. As part of our routine briefing, we made the President aware of the findings.”

This came shortly after a federal judge in south Florida denied a justice department request to unseal grand jury transcripts related to Epstein, the first ruling in a series of attempts by Trump’s administration to release more information on the case.

The request stemmed from federal investigations into Epstein in 2005 and 2007, according to court documents. US district judge Robin Rosenberg found that the justice department’s request in Florida did not fall into any of the exceptions to rules requiring grand jury material be kept secret.

The justice department has pending requests to unseal transcripts in a Manhattan federal court related to later indictments brought against Epstein and his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

In 2008 Epstein cut a deal with federal prosecutors in Florida that allowed him to escape more severe federal charges and instead plead guilty to state charges of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution.

The wealthy financier later was arrested in 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges. His former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, was charged with helping him abuse teenage girls.

Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in New York City about a month after he was arrested. Investigators concluded he killed himself. Maxwell later was convicted at trial and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The justice department has asked lawyers for Maxwell if she would be willing to speak with prosecutors, and Blanche said on Tuesday he expected to meet with her in the coming days.

Democrats and about a dozen Republicans in the House of Representatives are also pressing for answers. On Wednesday the powerful House oversight committee voted 8-2 to subpoena the justice department to release files related to Epstein, with three Republicans joining all Democrats. They also subpoenaed Maxwell for a deposition at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Florida, on 11 August.

The committee chair, James Comer, wrote in a subpoena cover letter to Maxwell: “While the Justice Department undertakes efforts to uncover and publicly disclose additional information related to your and Mr Epstein’s cases, it is imperative that Congress conduct oversight of the federal government’s enforcement of sex trafficking laws generally and specifically its handling of the investigation and prosecution of you and Mr Epstein.

“In particular, the Committee seeks your testimony to inform the consideration of potential legislative solutions to improve federal efforts to combat sex trafficking and reform the use of non-prosecution agreements and/or plea agreements in sex-crime investigations.”

US justice department releases heavily redacted cache of Jeffrey Epstein files

Photos included in tranche of documents as Democrats accuse Trump officials of failing to comply with law

people hold signs that read 'release the files now' and 'unlock all Epstein files'

The Department of Justice on Friday released a long-awaited and huge tranche of documents detailing its investigations into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a major development in the lengthy saga that turned into one of the biggest political setbacks Donald Trump has suffered since his re-election last year.

While significant portions of the files are redacted, those that were viewable included images of Epstein socializing with an array of prominent figures, including entertainers such as Michael Jackson, Chris Tucker and Diana Ross, and the entrepreneur Richard Branson. Bill Clinton appears in several photos, including one in which he is in a swimming pool along with Epstein’s convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. The images also show the former British royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Another cache of documents showed photos of evidence gathered including drives and computers but did not reveal details as to the contents. There was also a photo of what appeared to be a dog in a garbage bag, placed inside a box.

In a letter to Congress, Todd Blanche said the documents, which date back to 2006, when Epstein was investigated on child prostitution charges, were only the first set of what is planned for release. “The volume of materials to be reviewed … means that the department must publicly produce responsive documents on a rolling basis,” the deputy attorney general wrote in the letter obtained by Fox News.

He also acknowledged an array of redactions, including the identifying details of more than 1,200 victims and their family members.

Congressional Democrats accused the Trump administration of failing to adhere to the letter of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires the justice department to release all “unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” in its possession related to the financier’s cases by 19 December. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex-trafficking minors.

The law also requires the justice department to publish any materials from the investigations that relate to Maxwell, who was found guilty in 2021 of aiding Epstein’s sex trafficking of teen girls and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

“Technically they’re not in compliance,” said Democratic congressman Ro Khanna, a leader of the push to get the legislation passed.

“The law calls for all the documents that are unclassified to be released. They have not done that. The law also calls for them to explain redactions. I haven’t seen yet whether they’ve done that or not. My initial read is that they have a lot of redactions without explanation,” Khanna said.

Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, echoed his concerns, and said in a statement: “We will pursue every option to make sure the truth comes out.”

Thomas Massie, a Republican, also joined the chorus, writing on social media that the document release “grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law that [Donald Trump] signed just 30 days ago”.

Abigail Jackson, the White House deputy press secretary, said the documents’ release prove that “the Trump administration is the most transparent in history” and said it “has done more for the victims than Democrats ever have” by making the files public and cooperating with a separate congressional investigation.

Epstein’s case has captivated public attention for years, and been the subject of countless conspiracy theories – largely due to his connections to powerful and wealthy figures in the US and overseas, including Trump.

While he has the authority as president to make the documents public, Trump previously opposed doing so, and said the concern over his ties to Epstein was a “Democrat hoax”. As the House of Representatives neared approval of the bill in November, the president abruptly reversed his position and said Republican lawmakers should support it. It was later passed unanimously by the Senate, and Trump signed the measure into law on 19 November, triggering a 30-day countdown for the documents’ release.

Although the law mandates the release of unclassified materials, it may not provide the full transparency demanded by numerous Epstein victims, as it does include notable carve-outs, including a provision exempting materials “that would jeopardize an active federal investigation” from being released.

The legislation also states that “no later than 15 days” after the materials are made public, the justice department must provide Congress with a list of all categories of records released and withheld, a summary of any redactions made, and a list of “all government officials and politically exposed individuals named or referenced in the published materials”.

Before the release of the materials, experts also warned that the disclosure of records may not provide a full accounting of Epstein’s crimes or his network, and that it could still leave many Epstein questions unanswered.

Trump vowed to release Epstein-related files as he campaigned for president last year. This summer, his administration sparked backlash after the justice department announced it would not release any files related to the late financier, and said it had found “no incriminating client list” despite earlier claims from Pam Bondi, the attorney general, that such a document was sitting on her desk.

The announcement sparked bipartisan outrage – including from some Trump supporters – and reignited scrutiny of Epstein’s past ties to Trump, with whom he was friendly for at least 15 years before falling out in 2004. The president has consistently denied any knowledge of or involvement in Epstein’s criminal activities.

In mid-November, several days before Congress voted to release the justice department files, Democrats on the House oversight committee released three email exchanges they received from Epstein’s estate in response to a subpoena that dated from 2011, 2015 and 2019, and included one email in which Epstein claimed that Trump “knew about the girls”.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, dismissed the emails, and accused Democrats of “selectively” leaking them “to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump”.

Later that day, Republicans on the committee released more than 20,000 documents they received from Epstein’s estate, including emails between Epstein and prominent figures.

In early December, House Democrats on the committee released several dozen photographs from Epstein’s estate that highlight his ties to prominent figures, including Trump, Clinton and Mountbatten-Windsor.

Angel Ureña, a spokesperson for Bill Clinton, said that the Epstein investigation wasn’t about the former president.

“There are two types of people here,” he said. “The first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light. The second group continued relationships after that. We’re in the first. No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that.”

The images represent a small number of the almost 100,000 images given to the House committee, and were released without context or captions.

This week, House Democrats on the committee released another batch of photos from Epstein’s estate, as the deadline for the justice department to release its files loomed.

Among the images were photographs of lines from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita – which is about a middle-aged man’s sexual obsession with and sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl – written on different parts of a woman’s body. It was reported earlier this year that photos from inside Epstein’s Manhattan mansion revealed that he kept a first edition copy of Lolita in his office.

The same batch also included photos of travel documents, and notable people such as Bill Gates, Woody Allen, Noam Chomsky and Steve Bannon, Trump’s former adviser.

The images provided by the estate were undated, and provided without context. The appearance of these people in the photos is not evidence of any wrongdoing.

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