Reference News, February 1st report. According to Reuters on January 30th, the U.S. Department of Justice on the 30th released millions of documents, also the last batch related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, some of which show that the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, after claiming to have cut ties with Epstein for many years, had visited Epstein's private island and had lunch with him. In another set of emails, billionaire and former Trump advisor Elon Musk asked Epstein whether he planned to host a party, but he declined the invitation to the island.
These documents reveal the inner workings of the elite circle that Epstein was involved in, mentioning numerous well-known figures in politics, business, and entertainment, including Trump himself. Trump had been friendly with Epstein long before his crimes were exposed. However, Trump denied knowledge of Epstein's crimes.
The newly released documents include hundreds of files mentioning Trump, many of which are compilations of media reports.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on the 30th that with the release of these documents, the Trump administration's work of publicly releasing all Epstein-related files as required by law has concluded. He stated at a press conference that the new documents included over 3 million pages of documents, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images.
These documents also include an email that appears to have been sent by First Lady Melania Trump in 2002 to Ghislaine Maxwell (Epstein's partner and co-conspirator), relating to an article about Epstein in New York magazine.
The email reads: "The article about JE (Jeffrey Epstein) in New York magazine is good. You look great in the photo. Call me when you return to New York." Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2021 for trafficking minors and other charges. Epstein died in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial.
The documents also include emails involving Lutnick and Musk. The emails show that Epstein and Lutnick planned to have lunch on Epstein's private island in the Caribbean on December 23, 2012. That morning, Lutnick's wife wrote to Epstein's secretary saying "We are departing from St. Thomas Island to," and asked about the docking location. The next day, Epstein's assistant forwarded a note from Epstein to Lutnick, which read: "It was nice seeing you."
In another set of email exchanges, Epstein and Musk discussed inviting Musk to visit his private island. Musk wrote to Epstein on Christmas Day 2012, saying, "Thank you for the generous invitation, but the peaceful island experience is the opposite of what I need." Musk said he had been working hard and asked if Epstein had "any party plans."
Epstein replied that he understood Musk's refusal and added that the gender ratio on his island might make Musk's female companion uncomfortable. (Translated by Zhang Lin)
A declassified document regarding the Epstein case. (AP)
Original: toutiao.com/article/7601785620947616271/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.