American lawmakers on Monday made public a trove of documents that include handwritten messages and holiday photographs showing Britain's Ambassador to Washington, Lord Peter Mandelson, in close social company with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The material, compiled as part of a 50th-birthday book assembled by Epstein’s former associate Ghislaine Maxwell, contains a ten-page entry attributed to Mandelson in which he describes Epstein as his “best pal” and includes images that appear to show the British peer in a white dressing gown and, in another photograph, topless and wearing swim shorts on a balcony. The documents were released by the U.S. House Oversight Committee and were first reported in part earlier this year.
The photographs and messages date from the early 2000s, before Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting an underage girl. The book, which the committee said was turned over to Congress by representatives of Epstein after his death, runs to hundreds of pages and contains handwritten tributes and photographs from numerous people. Portions of the volume had previously been reported by The Wall Street Journal.
In his entry, Mandelson wrote that Epstein was “mysterious” and “an intelligent, sharp-witted man” who had "parachuted into my life," adding that "wherever he is in the world, he remains my best pal! Happy Birthday, Jeffrey. We love you!!" The pages include images of other social scenes and, on one page, a photograph showing Mandelson standing near two women, one of whom is wearing a vest and underwear; the accompanying handwriting notes that Epstein left guests with some “interesting friends to entertain.”
Mandelson, a veteran Labour politician who was appointed Britain’s ambassador to the United States by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has in the past expressed regret about having met Epstein. A spokesman previously said Mandelson “very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein,” adding that “this connection has been a matter of public record for some time” and that Mandelson “never had any kind of professional or business relationship with Epstein in any form.” The British Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the newly released material.
The birthday book was compiled by Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 of recruiting and grooming young girls for Epstein and is serving a 20-year prison sentence. The volume includes other entries that have drawn attention, including a handwritten note by a woman identified in the book as a former assistant to Epstein who wrote that she met the Duke of York and visited private areas of Buckingham Palace; that woman’s identity has been redacted in the public release.
House Oversight said the dossier was provided to Congress as part of its examination of Epstein’s activities and associations. The documents include pages with faces and names that have been redacted in places and notes from a range of people; some items in the compilation have been queried for authenticity by figures whose names appear in it. The release follows earlier court filings and press reports that documented Epstein’s social circle and his private island, Little St. James, which has been described in court filings and news reports as a site where victims were trafficked.
Court documents filed in 2023 cited what they described as a “particularly close friendship” between Epstein and Mandelson and said Mandelson was invited to stay at Epstein’s Manhattan home while Epstein was jailed. The FBI long ago took possession of a so-called "little black book" of Epstein contacts; reporting on that ledger has indicated it contained multiple numbers for Mandelson and for other prominent figures. The presence of names in Epstein’s records has not, on its own, been taken as evidence of criminal conduct, and lawyers and representatives for named individuals have often said inclusion reflected only social acquaintance.
Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. He was accused of arranging for the sexual exploitation of girls and young women over a number of years and of recruiting others to assist him. Maxwell’s conviction and sentence followed a long-running investigation into those activities.
The public release of the birthday book has already prompted renewed scrutiny of the social links between Epstein and a number of well-known figures. The ledger of messages reportedly includes letters and notes alleged to be from multiple high-profile individuals; some have denied authorship or questioned the authenticity of particular pages. A letter attributed to former President Donald Trump that appears in the compilation prompted a White House spokeswoman to call the story “fake news.” Other people whose names have appeared in connection with Epstein have denied wrongdoing.
The House Oversight Committee’s release adds to a patchwork of public documents, court filings and news reporting that has examined Epstein’s relationships and the networks of people who socialized with him. The released material underscores the range of social contacts Epstein maintained in the years before his 2008 conviction and 2019 death, and has revived public interest in how those associations intersected with his criminal behavior. Authorities and civil litigants continue to investigate and litigate aspects of Epstein’s estate, his associates and the circumstances surrounding his abuse of victims.