Epstein files exhibit opens in New York with 3.5 million pages on display
A US transparency advocacy organisation has launched a temporary exhibition in New York featuring a printed collection of all files released by the US Department of Justice relating to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — amounting to about 3.5 million pages.
The exhibition, titled “The Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room,” contains 3,437 bound volumes of documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, carefully numbered and arranged on shelves.
“The truth is hard to deny when it’s printed and bound for you to see,” the website of the Washington-based nonprofit, Institute of Primary Facts, states.
Visitors interested in viewing the collection at the Tribeca venue are required to register online.
However, because the Department of Justice reportedly failed to properly redact the identities of some victims mentioned in the files, members of the general public are restricted from directly accessing the documents. Exceptions are being made for certain professionals, including journalists and lawyers.
The pop-up exhibition also highlights the long-standing relationship between US President Donald Trump and Epstein, who died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial over sex trafficking allegations involving minors.
Trump and Epstein were reportedly close associates for years before their relationship allegedly deteriorated in 2004 following a property dispute. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing despite being mentioned multiple times in the so-called “Epstein Files.”
“We’re a pro-democracy organization, with the goal of educating the public using these kinds of sort of pop-up museums and other in-real-life experiences to help people understand the corruption in the United States, the dangers to democracy,” said David Garrett, one of the project’s organisers, during an interview with AFP.
Garrett added that he believes “there needs to be real public outcry” over the handling of the files by the Trump administration, amid accusations from critics that officials attempted to shield Trump’s connections to Epstein.
“And what we attempted to do here was to create, or help to create public outcry to have real accountability,” he said.
The exhibition will remain open to the public until May 21.