Kevin Spacey urges release of 'Epstein files,' despite FBI probe debunking 'client list'

USA Today

5 days ago

The Trump administration may be ready to move on from the political specter of Jeffrey Epstein, but Kevin Spacey isn't.
The Oscar-winning actor, whose Hollywood prestige has diminished in recent years thanks to a spate of legal troubles, weighed in on a recent probe by the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI on Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender, and his alleged network of high-profile associates.
The FBI concluded that Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in August 2019 while awaiting federal sex trafficking charges.
"Release the Epstein files. All of them," Spacey, 65, wrote in a July 15 X post. "For those of us with nothing to fear, the truth can't come soon enough. I hate to make this about me — but the media already has."
Following a review of Epstein materials in the U.S. government's possession, the Justice Department and FBI concluded in a July 7 memo that there was no evidence that Epstein kept a "client list," contradicting U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's past suggestion that such a list from the disgraced businessman existed.
Debunking previous conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein's death, the agencies said there was no proof that Epstein blackmailed prominent people as part of his actions or that he was murdered while in custody. Additionally, the Justice Department and FBI said it found no evidence to prompt an investigation into uncharged third parties in the Epstein case.
Prior to the "client list" probe, Spacey was alleged to be part of a sprawling list of celebrities who had ties to Epstein and his former girlfriend and convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
Spacey, whose career was derailed in 2017 following sexual assault allegations by fellow actor Anthony Rapp, has been the subject of infamy himself. In July 2023, after a series of additional assault allegations from other accusers, the "House of Cards" star was acquitted of nine charges at the end of a four-week long trial in London. A year and a half later, Spacey was sued by an unnamed individual at London's High Court for alleged sexual abuse.
DOJ and FBI conclude Jeffrey Epstein had no 'client list,' died by suicide
What is the Jeffrey Epstein 'client list'?
Epstein's alleged "client list" stemmed from previously sealed court documents in a defamation lawsuit brought by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre against Maxwell. In the 2015 filing, Giuffre — who died in April — claimed Maxwell facilitated years of sexual abuse at the hands of Epstein that began when Giuffre was 16.
The lawsuit reportedly contained the names of more than 150 "John and Jane Does" linked to Epstein. Although the suit was settled two years later for an undisclosed amount, a New York judge granted a motion filed by the Miami Herald to unseal documents from the case in December 2023.
Prior to the documents' release in January 2024, Epstein's former pilot, Larry Visoski, testified in 2021 that Spacey was among a group of A-list clientele who flew on Epstein's private plane, which included other alleged passengers such as President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and former Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell.
When the court materials were unveiled, a number of celebrities and politicians were reportedly identified, according to Newsweek, NPR and Time magazine. Spacey, who was not accused of wrongdoing, was named alongside Trump, Clinton and Prince Andrew, as well as actors Bruce Willis and Cameron Diaz, pop singer Michael Jackson and former Vice President Al Gore, among others.
What has Kevin Spacey said about Jeffrey Epstein?
In 2002, Spacey traveled with Epstein, former President Clinton and fellow actor Chris Tucker to Africa for Clinton's advocacy tour to promote HIV/AIDS awareness, according to a New York Magazine profile of Epstein. The plane that the star-studded group traveled on — a Boeing 727 — was owned by Epstein, per the outlet.
Spacey addressed his rumored ties to Epstein during court testimony for his 2022 trial with accuser Anthony Rapp, according to Law & Crime. A jury later found Spacey not guilty of molesting Rapp when he was 14 during an alleged incident in the 1980s.
Kevin Spacey's legal trouble: Actor sued for alleged sexual abuse in UK case
"I was now being talked about as if I knew Jeffrey Epstein, as though I was some important and powerful friend of his, and because I'd been on this airplane, I had actually flown to what was being called Pedo Island," said Spacey at the time, referring to Epstein's private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Little Saint James.
"While it is true that I met Jeffrey Epstein on that trip," Spacey concluded, "I never saw him again, and I have never been to any island."
Contributing: Joey Garrison, Morgan Hines, Doug Stanglin, Kevin McCoy, Cybele Mayes-Osterman and David Jackson, USA TODAY; Sam Tobin and Michael Holden, Reuters