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Which specific politicians received donations from Jeffrey Epstein-linked entities and what were the donation amounts?
Executive summary
Available sources show Jeffrey Epstein and entities linked to him made numerous political donations over decades, totaling at least $184,276 in previously reported aggregates and including multiple named recipients such as Stacey Plaskett and Chuck Schumer; federal records and compilation sites like OpenSecrets list itemized contributions but full, current breakdowns are hosted in databases rather than a single narrative source [1] [2]. Recent reporting and newly released documents have focused attention on specific donations in the U.S. Virgin Islands (notably to Del. Stacey Plaskett) and on historic small-sum donations to national figures including Sen. Chuck Schumer [3] [4].
1. What the public databases and past reporting actually document
Comprehensive, itemized records of Epstein-linked contributions live in campaign-finance databases: OpenSecrets’ donor lookup compiles Federal Election Commission data and state/local uploads and is the primary place to trace which politicians received what amounts from a name like “Jeffrey Epstein” [2]. Business Insider’s 2019 aggregation reported Epstein had given about $184,276 to politicians across parties, and it names recipients in summary form [1]. If you want line-by-line, year-by-year donor-to-candidate amounts, the available sources point to OpenSecrets and FEC downloads rather than a single news article that lists every donation with dollar amounts [2] [1].
2. High-profile named recipients that appear in reporting
Several high-profile names recur in coverage: Del. Stacey Plaskett (D–U.S. Virgin Islands) received maximum individual contributions and larger committee gifts tied to Epstein, and her acceptance and later return of some funds have been central to recent controversy [3] [5]. Sen. Chuck Schumer was reported in a congressional document to have received multiple $1,000 donations from Epstein in the 1990s and Epstein also gave $5,000 to a Schumer-associated committee, per reporting released into the congressional record [4]. Business Insider’s compilation also lists recipients such as Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush among others in a broader tally [1].
3. The scale and timing: heavier giving in the 1990s and isolated big committee gifts
Reporting from nonpartisan analysts and past journalism shows Epstein donated more heavily to Democrats in the 1990s before allegations attracted sustained scrutiny; OpenSecrets’ historical write-ups note tens of thousands in that era and a $10,000 donation to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2018 [6]. The document trail includes many small traditional individual contribution limits (e.g., $1,000 or the then-legal maxima) as well as occasional larger committee or joint-committee donations, rather than a pattern of very large direct gifts to single-member campaigns in recent cycles [6] [4].
4. The most politically consequential examples reporters are citing now
The politically combustible examples in recent 2025 coverage are those that combine local proximity and optics: Epstein’s donations to U.S. Virgin Islands politicians (including Plaskett) because Epstein’s main island residence and activities were located there, and his later communications with figures in Washington revealed in newly released files [3] [7]. Congressional releases and contemporaneous news articles have repeatedly highlighted Plaskett’s texts with Epstein and the story of whether she returned donations after his 2019 arrest [3] [5].
5. Limits of current reporting and where to look for exact dollar-item lists
Available sources do not provide a single, consolidated list in narrative form of "every politician and each dollar amount" from Epstein-linked entities as of today; instead, those precise line-item records exist in FEC/OpenSecrets database queries and in older compilations like the 2019 Business Insider piece [2] [1]. For precise, up-to-date totals and the names/years/amounts for each recipient, the practical next step is to run an OpenSecrets donor-lookup query or review FEC raw downloads noted on OpenSecrets [2].
6. Political context, disputes, and competing framings in coverage
Republicans and Democrats frame these donations differently in the current fight over releasing the “Epstein files”: some Republican messaging accuses Democrats of hypocrisy and highlights Democratic recipients and committee receipts [5], while other outlets and Democratic releases emphasize newly disclosed emails and the need to reveal who Epstein communicated with—both angles are being used for partisan advantage as the release debate proceeds [7] [8]. Readers should note that political actors selectively emphasize particular donations or texts to score political points; independent databases (OpenSecrets/FEC) are the neutral factual backbone the press relies on for amounts [2].
If you want a definitive, itemized list with dollar amounts per recipient, I can query the OpenSecrets donor-lookup and extract the line-item entries cited by journalists, or provide step-by-step instructions for you to run the FEC/OpenSecrets search yourself [2].