ORLANDO, Fla. – Last month, millions of documents were released by the U.S. Justice Department in an effort to comply with a law requiring it to open its investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein.
As part of this document dump, some big names have been uncovered, though the context behind these discoveries varies greatly.
For example, News 6 searched for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, which brought up 90 different documents in the DOJ’s Epstein Library.
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News 6 scoured through these documents to figure out why DeSantis appeared so often.
As it turns out, most of these hits stem from the governor calling for the FDLE to investigate a case related to Epstein back in 2019, just days before Epstein was found dead at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.
WHAT HAPPENED?
At the time, DeSantis had received a letter from Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, who asked for the state to take over the case.
“I believe the public interest would be best served by an FDLE-led investigation examining every aspect of the Epstein case, from court sentencing to incarceration,” Bradshaw wrote.
The case itself revolved around a work release program that allowed Epstein to visit his office while staying at the county jail a decade prior.
Before reaching out to DeSantis, Bradshaw had opened criminal and internal investigations into Epstein’s 13-month stay at the Palm Beach County stockade.
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Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution-related charges involving underage girls, but he was allowed to spend most days at his West Palm Beach office.
During that time, victims’ attorney Bradley Edwards alleged, Epstein was engaging in inappropriate sexual acts.
“Floridians expect and deserve a full and fair investigation,” DeSantis said. “Following my review of Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw’s letter, I am requesting the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to take over his criminal investigation pertaining to the Jeffrey Epstein matter. In addition, FDLE will conduct a preliminary inquiry into matters beyond the work release and into other irregularities concerning the case’s disposition. I have also re-assigned the case to the State Attorney for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit.”
WHAT OTHER REFERENCES ARE THERE TO DESANTIS?
News 6 found that most of the files with DeSantis’ name in them referred to his call for the state-level investigation.
Many other files were copies of current-event newsletters that touched on stories involving Epstein, while also mentioning DeSantis in wholly unrelated stories.
For example, one FBI news briefing discussed an Epstein victim’s plan to sue the agency for $600 million for failing to investigate past reports of sexual abuse.
DeSantis is mentioned in the same document due to his promise to dismiss then-FBI Director Christopher Wray while the governor was still campaigning for president.
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There are also a few references in the Epstein Library to HB 117, a law passed in 2024 that allows for the public release of grand jury documents, including those related to the 2006 Florida investigation into Epstein.
DeSantis is referenced here due to his having signed the bill.
A few other documents included DeSantis’ name in standardized FDLE page headers, and one bizarre file from last year included a nearly four-page-long conspiratorial message to the FBI by someone accusing DeSantis of raping her.
In the same largely incoherent rant, she also claims to have been raped by Epstein, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, former White House strategist Steven Bannon, and even Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, among many others.
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“In 2008, my boss said to me, ‘The FBI is on the phone; did you see James Bulger kidnap a child?’ I said, ’I did,’” the message reads at one point. “That night, I was raped by Ron DeSantis.”
Meanwhile, the full Epstein Library can be accessed on the DOJ’s website by clicking here.