Who’s in the Epstein files, from the former Prince Andrew to Lawrence Summers

The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – formerly known as Prince Andrew – on suspicion of misconduct in public office, marks a significant development in the ongoing fallout from the release of documents related to the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor is just one of many public figures facing renewed scrutiny over their relationships with the convicted sex offender – as details continue to emerge from the files about the various elite figures in Mr. Epstein’s extensive network.

Speculation about the extent of Mr. Epstein’s ties to some of the world’s most powerful people has swirled for weeks as the U.S. Justice Department has made more documents from its yearslong investigation public. 

While other prominent people – from university professors to business leaders – have faced professional consequences from revelations about their connections to the convicted sex offender, Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor is the highest-profile figure thus far to face criminal charges. If convicted, the younger brother of Britain’s King Charles III could potentially spend the rest of his life in prison. He also symbolizes a larger pattern: The fallout for people who associated with Mr. Epstein has been greater, and faster, for those outside the United States than within it.

Other figures with known ties to Mr. Epstein have recently been the target of scrutiny but have yet to face any formal accusations of wrongdoing. They include President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton, among others. On Feb. 14, the Justice Department sent Congress a list of 300 people who appear in the released files, which now total some 3.5 million pages. The list named government officials or “politically exposed” people whose names appear in the files at least once.

Being in the files does not by itself indicate wrongdoing. Some of those whose names are mentioned appear to have had only fleeting contact with the disgraced financier, who was found dead, hanging in his jail cell, in 2019. The records comprise years of investigative material, not all of which appears directly related to Mr. Epstein or his criminal activities, and much of which has not been vetted.

Yet the documents have begun to paint a clearer picture of the extent of Mr. Epstein’s influence. He had numerous contacts at elite universities, from Harvard and Columbia to Stanford; with celebrities such as filmmaker Woody Allen and New York Giants co-owner Steven Tisch; with political figures such as right-wing commentator Steve Bannon; and with billionaire business leaders, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel.