As the final documents from the Epstein Files Transparency Act circulate, the internet remains a battlefield of theories. For the Afriqpulse audience, we’ve stripped away the noise to look at the five most common claims surfacing this year and what the official DOJ records actually confirm.
1. The “List of Clients” vs. “List of Associates”
The Myth: There is a single document titled “The Client List” that proves criminal activity for everyone named. The Reality: No such document exists in the three-million-page dump. Instead, there are contact databases and Black Books. The 2026 records clarify that being in Epstein’s circle was often a result of his aggressive “social climbing.” While many were certainly clients of his sex-trafficking enterprise, the files show that others were business associates who never visited the private island. The challenge for investigators remains proving knowledge of the crimes, not just proximity to the man.
2. The Surveillance Footage Mystery
The Myth: All cameras on Little St. James and in the Manhattan mansion were “dummy” cameras. The Reality: Internal maintenance logs unsealed this year prove the opposite. Epstein’s properties were wired with sophisticated, high-resolution surveillance. However, the DOJ files confirm that a significant portion of the hard drives from the 2000s were physically destroyed or “wiped” prior to the 2019 raids. What remains are “fragments” and metadata that show the frequency of visitors, even if the visual evidence is lost.
3. The Zorro Ranch “Truth Commission”
The Myth: The New Mexico property was just a vacation home. The Reality: In early 2026, New Mexico lawmakers launched a bipartisan commission following the release of “Zorro Ranch” blueprints. The files describe a facility designed for more than just residency, including underground structures and advanced medical-grade equipment. The investigation is now shifting toward how this ranch served as a “testing ground” for Epstein’s interest in eugenics and population control—a dark chapter that is only now being fully documented.
Media Credit: AB1B / New Mexico Investigative Report
4. The “Suicide” Surveillance
The Myth: The video of the night Epstein died was “lost.” The Reality: The 2026 files finally settled this procedural debate. New documents show that while the FBI’s “master copy” of certain hallway angles was technically destroyed (per standard data retention policies that were criticized as negligent), the backup logs show that no one entered or exited the cell area during the critical window. It doesn’t satisfy every theorist, but the records focus more on the systemic negligence—the lack of guard checks and the broken camera system—rather than a coordinated “hit.”
5. The $1 Billion Recovery
The Myth: Epstein’s victims received nothing from his estate. The Reality: As of this month, the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program and subsequent civil suits against banks like JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank have distributed over $1.2 billion to survivors. The financial records unsealed in 2026 show that while the money can never undo the trauma, the legal pressure forced some of the world’s largest financial institutions to admit they ignored “red flags” for the sake of profit.
Why we can’t look away
The 2026 disclosures aren’t about closing a book; they are about understanding how power works when it thinks no one is watching. For Afriqpulse, the goal is to remain a source of clarity in an era of digital confusion.
Editor’s Final Note: Investigative journalism is a marathon, not a sprint. We will continue to monitor the DOJ’s archival releases as they become available.
