Bill Clinton appears to have been pictured with Ghislaine Maxwell in the partially released Epstein files. The former President is shown in a swimming pool with another individual, whose identity has been redacted. A second picture shows Mr Clinton and Epstein together. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Mr Clinton.

The US Department of Justice started releasing the latest cache of the Epstein files on Friday evening. Documents relating to disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein were published on the department’s website to a page titled “Epstein Library” at about 9pm GMT on Friday.

Mr Clinton developed a social and philanthropic relationship with Jeffrey Epstein in the years after leaving the presidency, including multiple trips on Epstein’s private jet (flight logs indicate around 26-27 flights between 2002 and 2003, though Mr Clinton’s office describes them as four trips related to Clinton Foundation work).

Mr Clinton has consistently denied any knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities, stating he cut off contact around 2005, never visited Epstein’s private island, and “knows nothing about the terrible crimes” Epstein committed.

The apparent focus on Mr Clinton has raised eyebrows, with Peter Baker, Chief White House Correspondent for The New York Times, posting on X: “Trump, trying to divert attention from his Epstein ties, orders Justice Department and FBI to investigate Democrats who were close to the billionaire sex offender…”

Unsealed court documents and recent file releases mention Clinton frequently as an associate but contain no allegations or evidence of wrongdoing on his part, with sources across outlets confirming no credible implication in Epstein’s sex trafficking.

Users were added to a queue to access the site and some received an error message that said “your queue number has been rejected” with a button to “get a new place in line”.

A privacy notice on the Epstein Library said: “In view of the Congressional deadline, all reasonable efforts have been made to review and redact personal information pertaining to victims, other private individuals, and protect sensitive materials from disclosure.

“That said, because of the volume of information involved, this website may nevertheless contain information that inadvertently includes non-public personally identifiable information or other sensitive content, to include matters of a sexual nature.

“In the event a member of the public identifies any information that should not have been posted, please notify us immediately at EFTAusdoj.gov so we can take steps to correct the problem as soon as possible.”