Overview
- A newly released FBI document dated September 3, 1996 records Maria Farmer’s complaint that Jeffrey Epstein stole nude photos of her 12- and 16-year-old sisters, sought images of young girls at swimming pools, and threatened to burn her house if she spoke.
- The Department of Justice released thousands of Epstein files late Friday and Saturday under the Epstein Files Transparency Act after missing the deadline, with heavy redactions the department says protect victims and sensitive material and with more releases expected in coming weeks.
- Farmer says the disclosure vindicates her long-disputed report, while the FBI has not publicly accounted for any investigative steps taken at the time and declined to comment to reporters.
- Victims’ attorney Brad Edwards called for a full investigation into officials who knew of the document, and Rep. Thomas Massie criticized the administration for failing to fully comply with the law’s release requirements.
- Annie Farmer’s 2021 testimony about grooming and abuse by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell aligns with the access and patterns described around the 1996 report, reinforcing survivors’ accounts.