The US lieutenant colonel pointed to the political reason for the publication of the files on the Epstein case.

The publication of files on the case of financier Jeffrey Epstein, accused of crimes against minors and human trafficking, may have a political reason. Retired U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Earl Rasmussen told Izvestia about this on February 2.

"If you look at it from the geopolitical side, there are midterm elections ahead, which are very important. <...> Plus various conflicts: Ukraine, the Middle East, Asia, competition with China, plus all sorts of "adventures" in South America and/or the Caribbean region," the expert noted.

He pointed out that the scandal surrounding the documents affects not only the United States, as a large number of people around the world were also involved in this situation. Thus, the new batch of declassified files contains references to the Rothschild banking dynasty, as well as high-ranking politicians from Israel.

In addition, the documents contain references to Bill Gates, an entrepreneur and founder of Microsoft Corporation, and Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States.

"So publishing these files can be used in different ways. Is this a way of saying, "Okay, we fulfilled our promise, we published them"? Or is it aimed at political opponents? Maybe. Is this being used as a tool of blackmail — political blackmail? It's also possible. There are many different factors involved," Rasmussen said.

Epstein's files reveal new details of the scandal. What the media writes

Earlier that day, it became known that Epstein's released files contain documents indicating his connection with girls from Samara and Saratov. According to one of the documents, we are talking about a graduate of Samara State University of Economics, who worked as a model in New York, participated in global brand shows, and later became a co-owner and teacher of the modeling school in Samara.

On February 1, the NYT newspaper learned about the publication by the US Department of Justice of nude photos of girls in the Epstein case. It was noted that 40 shots were recorded on the agency's website, which showed people with their faces uncovered. Those captured in the pictures were on the island, in bedrooms and other private spaces belonging to the financier.

Prior to that, on January 8, it became known that the declassified materials mentioned Russian girls who had not reached the age of majority. According to information from the website of the US Department of Justice, one of the parties on the financier's yacht was attended by a 15-year-old girl from Russia, and the other was already attended by a 16-year-old Russian woman.

Epstein's files began to be published on December 20, 2025. On November 19 of the same year, US President Donald Trump signed a bill to make them public, although the first part of the documents, containing the names of more than 150 people involved in the financier's case, was published in January 2024.

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