A birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein purportedly written by President Donald Trump is displayed during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Sep. 17, 2025, as Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, questions FBI Director Kash Patel.

A breakfast appointment with MAGA leader Steve Bannon. A planned lunch with billionaire Peter Thiel. A mention of billionaire Elon Musk potentially coming to the "island," with the notation "is this still happening?"

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released documents on Sept. 26 from Jeffrey Epstein's estate that mention a number of high-profile figures, including Musk, Thiel, Bannon, Prince Andrew and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

“It should be clear to every American that Jeffrey Epstein was friends with some of the most powerful and wealthiest men in the world," said Oversight Spokesperson Sara Guerrero, adding: "Oversight Democrats will not stop until we identify everyone complicit in Epstein’s heinous crimes."

The six pages of documents released by Democrats include parts of Epstein's daily schedule in 2014, 2017 and 2019, a flight manifest from 2000 with Epstein and Prince Andrew's names on it and a ledger that twice lists massages for "Andrew" in 2000. They are a small fraction of the 8,544 records in the third batch the Oversight Committee has received from Epstein's estate, which include phone message logs, copies of flight logs, Epstein's daily schedules and copies of ledgers documenting cash transactions.

The GOP-controlled Committee's official X account accused Democrats of selectively releasing records.

"This is old news," the Committee wrote. "It's sad how Democrats are conveniently withholding documents that contain the names of Democratic officials. Once again they are putting politics over victims."

"We are releasing them all soon," the Committee added of the new batch of records.

Epstein died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. The Trump administration's handling of documents related to the Epstein case has caused an uproar, including a push by members of Congress to obtain the records.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky, issued a subpoena for the records related to Epstein from the Justice Department on Aug. 5 after a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the panel voted in favor of the measure in July. The first batch of records was released earlier this month.

Democrats on Sept. 8 released a copy of a lewd birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein that they say shows the signature of President Donald Trump, a note he has denied writing. The letter shows Trump's purported message to Epstein inside the outline of a woman's body, with the president's signature mimicking pubic hair.

Epstein pled guilty in Florida state court in 2008 to one count each of soliciting minors for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute. He served 13 months in jail and registered as a sex offender. He was arrested again in 2019 on sex trafficking charges.

The records released Sept. 26 by Democrats indicate Epstein had a "tentative breakfast" scheduled with Gates on Dec. 5, 2014. They also show a 7 a.m. breakfast scheduled with Bannon on Feb. 16, 2019, and a noon lunch scheduled with Thiel on Nov. 27, 2017.

Bannon was White House chief strategist during the early part of Trump's first term. The co-founder of PayPal, Thiel, has donated to conservative causes, including heavy contributions to Vice President JD Vance's 2022 U.S. Senate race.

Under the date Dec. 6, 2014, Epstein's schedule states: "Reminder: Elon Musk to island Dec. 6 (is this still happening?)"

Musk responded on social media to a post that included a screen grab of an article saying he planned a trip to Epstein's private island with "This is false."

Bannon, Musk and Thiel did not immediately respond to requests for comment by USA TODAY. Gates and Prince Andrew have said they regret spending time with Epstein.

The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times previously reported that Thiel scheduled meetings with Epstein. He told the Wall Street Journal in 2023: “I was rather naive and I didn’t think enough about what Epstein’s agenda might have been.” NBC reported earlier this year that Bannon met with Epstein in 2019 to film interviews for a documentary that was never released.

Musk told Vanity Fair in 2019 that he visited Epstein at his house in Manhattan years before "for about 30 minutes."

"We did not see anything inappropriate at all, apart from weird art," Musk said. "He tried repeatedly to get me to visit his island. I declined.”

Prince Andrew stepped away from public duties as a royal in 2019 amid the fallout from his relationship with Epstein. His reputation was tarnished by a sex abuse lawsuit filed by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who accused the second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of sex trafficking her as a teenager. The sex abuse lawsuit was settled in February 2022 for an undisclosed total and a "substantial donation" to Giuffre's charity. Andrew has denied Giuffre's allegations.

Musk helped power Trump's victory in 2024, spending nearly $290 million to help the president and Republicans get elected. He became one of Trump's closest advisers during the early days of his second administration before a falling out, although they recently appeared to reconcile.

In June, as he was feuding with Trump, Musk took to social media to "drop the really big bomb."

Musk said in a June 5 post that Trump "is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!"

Epstein owned a small private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where sex trafficking of young girls allegedly occurred. In January 2020, prosecutors with the U.S. Virgin Islands filed a lawsuit against Epstein's estate, alleging a criminal enterprise took place on his property there involving the sexual abuse of young girls. The estate settled the case with the U.S. Virgin Islands for $105 million in December 2022.

Questions surrounding who visited the island have been a recurring theme of the Epstein saga.

“I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down, but a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island," Trump said July 28. “In one of my very good moments, I turned it down. I didn't want to go to his island.”

This article has been updated with additional information.

Contributing: Francesca Chambers, Joey Garrison, Michael Loria, Josh Meyer, Kinsey Crowley, Anthony Robledo

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democrats release Epstein records mentioning Musk, Bannon, Thiel, Prince Andrew

Reporting by Zac Anderson, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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