Revelations from Epstein Files: High-Profile Names Unveiled

US lawmakers have released more than 20,000 pages of documents from the estate of the disgraced financier and convicted late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Some of the documents mention Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the former prince and brother of King Charles; US President Donald Trump; Trump's former advisor Steve Bannon; and a cast of other characters from the world of media, politics and entertainment, who highlight the extent of Epstein's contact book.

Trump was a friend of Epstein's for years, but the president has said they fell out in about 2004, years before Epstein was first arrested. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

Here are some of the other names that came up, which does not indicate wrongdoing by any of the parties mentioned.

Michael Wolff, 72, is an American journalist and columnist - as well as a prolific author of books on the wealthy and the famous.

Fire and Fury, the first of several books spanning Trump's first stint as US president, came out in 2018, with descriptions of a dysfunctional White House and salacious details about the US commander-in-chief. Trump said it was full of lies.

The new batch of files related to Jeffrey Epstein shed light on a relationship that appears to indicate a correspondence between Wolff and the late convicted sex offender.

Attention has focused particularly on one of the emails, in which Wolff appears to give Epstein advice in relation to Trump, as Trump was campaigning for the White House for the first time.

Wolff wrote to Epstein in 2015 to notify him that CNN was planning to ask Trump, as a presidential candidate, about his relationship with Epstein.

Epstein replied: If we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be?

The two go on to discuss a strategy, with Wolff writing: I think you should let him hang himself. In a separate email from October 2016, days before the US presidential election, Wolff offers Epstein a chance to sit for an interview that could finish Trump.

Responding to the release in a video posted to Instagram, Wolff said: Some of those emails are between Epstein and me, with Epstein discussing his relationship with Donald Trump.

In fact, Wolff disclosed before the latest presidential election in the US that he had interviewed Epstein periodically for Fire and Fury - and released tapes of those conversations.

The documents include correspondences between Epstein and Larry Summers, who was former Democratic President Bill Clinton's Treasury Secretary. It had been previously reported that the two men knew each other.

The emails indicate the two met for dinner frequently, with Epstein often trying to connect Summers to prominent global figures. At one point, in July 2018, Epstein proposed a meeting with the presidnt [sic] of united nations, interesting person for you.

In a separate email from late November 2016, just after Trump's election, Summers asked Epstein to spend zero effort on anything about me with Trump due to Trump's approach to conflict of interest.

A spokesperson for Summers declined to comment, but referred the BBC to past statements by Summers. A representative told the Wall Street Journal in 2023 that the former official deeply regrets being in contact with Epstein after his conviction.

The House of Representatives Oversight Committee released several email exchanges between Epstein and Kathryn Ruemmler, a lawyer who served as White House counsel during the presidency of Barack Obama.

In August 2018, Ms Ruemmler and Epstein discussed hush-money payments made by Trump to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election - an issue over which Trump was later convicted of falsifying business records. Trump denies allegations that he had an affair with Daniels.

The exchange between Ms Ruemmler and Epstein culminated with Epstein writing: You see, I know how dirty donald is. The bank Goldman Sachs, where Ms Ruemmler is currently chief legal officer and general counsel, told CNBC it was standing by its employee.

In 2023, Ms Ruemmler told the Wall Street Journal, I regret ever knowing Jeffrey Epstein.

The name of billionaire investor and on-off Trump supporter Peter Thiel appeared again in the latest Epstein documents.

According to the newly-released files, Epstein wrote to Mr Thiel in November 2018 to invite him to visit him in his Caribbean island, where some of Epstein's crimes are thought to have been committed.

The BBC has asked the Thiel Foundation and the investor's Founders Fund for comment.

The latest document drop includes more correspondence between the famed linguist Noam Chomsky, 96, and Epstein. Many of their discussions were academic or personal.

Epstein consulted publicist Peggy Siegal as the scandal around him and his associates unfolded.

Epstein wrote to Ms Siegal in 2011 asking her to contact the founder of the Huffington Post, Ariana Huffington, in order to discredit the story of Virginia Giuffre, who was a prominent accuser of Epstein and Andrew. Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year.