Overview
- Newly published DOJ photos show Ratner on a couch next to Jeffrey Epstein as he embraces a woman whose face is redacted, with a second redacted woman seated on the other side.
- The images were released Friday within a multimiIlion‑document cache mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which permits redactions to protect victims or minors.
- Reporting on the files notes Ratner appears in related emails, yet the DOJ materials do not accuse him of wrongdoing or connect him to criminal activity.
- Ratner previously appeared in an earlier DOJ tranche alongside French modeling agent Jean‑Luc Brunel, who was charged with abusing minors and died in custody in 2022.
- The photos surface as Ratner’s film Melania opens following years of career fallout from 2017 misconduct allegations he has denied, with coverage citing largely negative reviews and an opening weekend around $8 million.