The Epstein list is a hypothesized document containing the names of high-profile clients to whom the American financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein trafficked young girls, part of the wider body of documents known as the Epstein files. Epstein cultivated a social circle of public figures that included politicians and celebrities, fueling conspiracy theories suggesting that he maintained such a list to blackmail these associates—and that his 2019 death was not a suicide (as officially reported) but a murder to protect his clients.
Claims surrounding the existence of a client list first surfaced in the immediate aftermath of Epstein's death, later reaching heightened prominence in 2025 following a now-deleted tweet from former White House senior advisor and Department of Government Efficiency associate Elon Musk alleging that United States president Donald Trump was among the names listed. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump floated the idea of releasing the Epstein files,[1] though he has since said that they are simply fabrications by members of the Democratic Party.[2]
The Trump administration’s United States Justice Department (DOJ) released a memo on July 7, 2025, which stated the list did not exist and "no credible evidence [was] found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties." The memo was met with skepticism from political commentators across the political spectrum, such as Alex Jones[3] and John Oliver.[4]
In November 2025, a set of emails with Epstein were released in which Epstein stated that Trump was aware of his child sex trafficking operation, and that Trump had "spent hours" with one of the victims
