Who were the most prominent US politicians named in Epstein's flight logs?
Executive summary
The most prominent U.S. politicians whose names appear in publicly released portions of Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs and related DOJ document dumps include former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, with other political figures such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former New York governor Andrew Cuomo also appearing in the released materials; these records were entered into evidence in related prosecutions and later released by the Justice Department in batches that were often redacted [1] [2] [3] [4]. The mere presence of a name in flight logs or contact lists is not proof of criminal conduct, a caveat stressed repeatedly in contemporary coverage and by officials who handled the release [5] [6].
1. Bill Clinton — the most frequently cited former president in the records
Bill Clinton’s name and images show up repeatedly in the files and flight-log material that have circulated since the government and journalists began publishing Epstein-related records; multiple outlets and the DOJ releases identify Clinton in flight logs and photographs associated with Epstein’s travel records [2] [7]. Those materials have been used to document social and travel connections over years, not to allege specific criminal acts by listed passengers, and media reports reiterate that inclusion on a manifest is not itself evidence of wrongdoing [5].
2. Donald Trump — logged flights and contemporaneous context
Donald Trump is named in the flight logs that were part of the government’s released materials, with reporting noting multiple flights between the early– to mid-1990s and at least one instance where a flight manifest listed only Epstein and Trump as passengers; contemporary press coverage emphasized the factual record in the logs while also noting the limitations of what the logs prove [6] [5]. The timing and selective public release of these materials — overseen by then–Attorney General Pam Bondi and publicized by political actors — added a political overlay to the disclosure process that critics and supporters both highlighted [4] [5].
3. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other political figures in contact lists vs. flight manifests
Some names associated with Epstein appear in pages identified as a contact book or “client files,” and these are distinct from the pilot flight logs; reporting from The Independent and other outlets lists Robert F. Kennedy Jr. among persons named in Epstein’s contact materials, which were released alongside flight logs and other documents [2]. It is important to distinguish the provenance and evidentiary weight of each item: flight-crew logs (entered as Government Exhibit 662‑RR in USA v. Maxwell) systematically record flights, whereas photocopied contact-book pages and redacted lists offer a less formal and more ambiguous record [1] [4].
4. Andrew Cuomo and other elected officials named in coverage
At least one contemporary report cataloging the released files named former New York governor Andrew Cuomo among public figures identified in the materials; coverage of the releases emphasized a broad mixture of celebrities, businesspeople and public officials appearing in a variety of records [3]. Again, reporting repeatedly underscored that these names’ appearance is a matter of documentary record, not a standalone allegation of criminality, and many documents were heavily redacted when turned over by federal authorities [7] [4].
5. What the records do — and do not — prove, and why the release became political
The flight logs used in prosecutions and released to the public span 1991–2003 and were introduced in the Maxwell case as government exhibits, providing a contemporaneous paper trail of passengers and routes but not of what occurred on flights or at destinations [1]. Journalists and DOJ officials involved in the phased public release repeatedly cautioned that inclusion in a log or contact list does not establish involvement in Epstein’s crimes; political actors on all sides treated the disclosures as politically useful, which shaped how the documents were publicized and framed in the media [5] [4].