A first look through the Epstein files reveals celebrity snaps, police notes and a lot of Bill Clinton

The first tranche of the so-called Epstein files contain photos, documents, receipts, snippets of texts and emails — and a lot of images featuring former US president Bill Clinton.

The US Department of Justice today released thousands of files it holds on late sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, just hours before the deadline mandated by Congress expired.

Many of the documents, and photos, are heavily redacted.

A White House spokesperson said the release shows the Trump administration was "the most transparent in history" but several Democrats have already criticised the government over the scale of the redactions, accusing it of withholding information.

ABC News journalists are still looking through the documents and some revelations may take time to emerge.

But for now, here are the main things that have emerged in the few hours since their release.

Celebrities, associates and redacted faces

The documents contain thousands of photos featuring celebrities, rock stars and well-known associates of Epstein. Being named or pictured in the files does not imply any wrongdoing or criminal activity.

Most of the photos contain no context on when or where they were taken, and many people's faces have been blacked out.

There is also a photo of former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in a group photo, where everyone but Ghislaine Maxwell has been redacted.

Mountbatten-Windsor lost his royal title over his past connections with Epstein but has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

A list of phone messages includes one from Naomi Campbell asking when she can speak with Epstein "regarding my swimsuit line". 

Campbell has in the past acknowledged her association with Epstein, but denied knowing he was having sex with underage girls. 

Bill Clinton is pictured. A lot

Someone whose face appears a lot in the files is former US president Bill Clinton.

Some photos show him swimming in a pool with Ghislaine Maxwell, a close associate of Epstein's who is now serving time in prison for sex trafficking.

Most of the photos of Mr Clinton show him pictured with women whose faces have been redacted.

Clinton spokesperson Angel Ureña released a statement on social media accusing the Trump administration of "shielding themselves from what comes next".

"The White House hasn't been hiding these files for months only to dump them late on a Friday to protect Bill Clinton," he said.

"This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they'll try and hide forever."

Documents and odd decor

The release includes files from previous police investigations, some containing notes from interviews with victims.

Among the documents is a 96-page incident report from the Palm Beach Police Department, dated July 25, 2006.

Many names are redacted but it includes information from victims who had been interviewed, including a description of a conversation in which a woman said that "if Jeff asked her [redacted name] age, she should say she was 18".

A transcript of Grand Jury testimony provided by an FBI agent in 2019 in the lead up to Maxwell being charged discusses how Epstein groomed a teenager by befriending her and her mother while Maxwell acted like a "cool older sister".   

The files also document some adult-themed items and purchases, such as "adult soap on a rope" and "twin torpedoes" vibrators. 

A receipt from an Adult Video Warehouse shows the purchase of 10 items identified as "novelties". 

There are also plenty of documents that shed light on the dull minutiae of Epstein's life, such as grocery lists and handyman receipts.

Some of the images appear to have been taken on Epstein's private plane, the "Lolita Express", and others look like they were taken inside his Manhattan townhouse. 

There are also several photos of Epstein and his friends at a shooting range.

Many photos simply feature odd decor — including a painting of Bill Clinton wearing a dress — inside what is presumably one of Epstein's homes.

Few Trump mentions despite opponents' expectations

President Donald Trump had long argued against the release of the files, accusing those calling for it of peddling a "Democrat hoax".

However last month he changed his tune and supported the documents' release, saying he had "nothing to hide".

Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing and says he cut ties with Epstein more than a decade ago. He has also previously called Epstein a "creep".

So far in this release ABC journalists have found few references to the president — but there was an undated photo of a framed image of Epstein posing with a woman whose name has been redacted, holding a cheque for $US22,500 which appears to have Trump's signature on it.

There is no implication that Trump was involved in wrongdoing, and the image has not been independently verified.

The Trump administration has said thousands more documents will be released in coming weeks.