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When were Jeffrey Epstein's flight logs first publicly released?
Executive summary
Public, searchable copies of parts of Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs were first circulated in court materials and public archives years before 2025, including an unredacted PDF of flight logs available in archived collections (see an archive copy at least containing entries from 1995) [1]. Major government releases that drew wide news coverage occurred in 2024–2025: Florida court releases of grand‑jury transcripts and some flight‑log photocopies in July 2024 were reported as making logs publicly available again [2], and the U.S. Department of Justice’s “first phase” packet including 236 pages of flight logs was posted publicly under Attorney General Pam Bondi in late February 2025 [3] [4].
1. Early public availability: flight logs in court and archival files
The flight logs themselves have circulated in public legal filings and archival repositories prior to 2025; for example, an unredacted PDF of Epstein’s flight logs (with dated entries such as 11/20/1995) appears in public archive collections and document repositories [1]. DocumentCloud and Wikimedia Commons also host files described as “Epstein flight logs released in USA v. Maxwell,” indicating flight‑manifest material entered the public record through litigation and document hosting [5] [6].
2. July 2024 — Florida grand‑jury transcripts and a tranche of documents
Reporting says that on July 1, 2024, a Florida judge released transcripts of a 2006 grand‑jury probe and that “a small batch of documents” made public then included copies of flight logs and a redacted address book, which media noted had “long been available in multiple court cases” [2]. That coverage frames July 2024 as a renewed, court‑sanctioned disclosure point for material that, in many cases, had previously been leaked or posted elsewhere [2].
3. February–March 2025 — DOJ’s “first phase” release publicized widely
The Justice Department under Attorney General Pam Bondi publicly posted a packet in late February 2025 that the DOJ described as a “first phase” of Epstein files, containing 341 pages including 236 pages of flight logs, 95 pages of redacted contact information, and other lists; news outlets reported the DOJ posting on Feb. 27–28, 2025 [3] [4]. Bondi’s office and outlets like Reuters and The Hill covered the release and her comments about protecting victim information while releasing logs and names [7] [3].
4. Congressional releases and later document dumps — continued availability
Subsequent releases by lawmakers and agencies expanded flight‑record publication: for example, House committee disclosures in 2025 and 2025–2026 reporting included Customs and Border Protection flight logs from 2000–2014 and other manifest material, with reporting noting many of those records had already been public in parts [8]. Outlets covering House Oversight releases described tens of thousands of pages being posted and observed overlap with previously public materials [8].
5. Why “first publicly released” is ambiguous — multiple publication pathways
The question “When were Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs first publicly released?” lacks a single answer because the logs entered public view through several channels: (a) court exhibits and filings (e.g., USA v. Maxwell materials shared on DocumentCloud and court websites) that made logs public during litigation [5] [9]; (b) archival postings of unredacted PDFs and hosted files that predate later press releases [1] [6]; and (c) formal government packets like the DOJ’s February 2025 posting and Florida court releases in July 2024 that re‑released or consolidated material [2] [3]. Different outlets emphasize different milestones [1] [2] [3].
6. Competing framings in media and official statements
Government and some media accounts framed the 2025 DOJ posting as a notable, official “first phase” release [3] [4]. Other reporting and archival evidence stress that many flight records were already accessible in prior court documents and public repositories, suggesting the DOJ packet confirmed or republished material rather than originating public disclosure [2] [1]. Reuters and CTV framed the late‑February 2025 actions as the Justice Department “hoping to release” or actually releasing flight logs and names, while noting overlap with previously available records [7] [10].
7. Caveats and what sources do not address
Available sources do not provide a single, definitive timestamp for the absolute first public posting of any Epstein flight log entry; instead, they document multiple public publications across years and platforms [1] [5] [2] [3]. If you need the earliest verifiable public posting for a specific manifest page or date, the reporting indicates checking archival PDF records and court exhibit identifiers [1] [5].
If you’d like, I can: (a) pull the dates and file identifiers from the archived PDF [1] to show the earliest entry timestamps visible there, or (b) assemble a timeline tied to specific releases (July 1, 2024; Feb. 27–28, 2025) with links to the DocumentCloud, DOJ, and archive files cited above [2] [3] [1].