‘A paper city’: New York ‘library’ hosts 3.5 million pages of Epstein files | Human Rights News
New Exhibition Highlights Jeffrey Epstein’s Cases Through Archive of Documents
TRIBECA, Manhattan — A gallery located a mile from the Manhattan jail where convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in 2019 has opened an exhibition designed to illuminate the legal complexities surrounding the disgraced financier. The installation, titled “The Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room,” is situated at 101 Reade Street.
The exhibition prominently features more than 3.5 million pages of law enforcement documents released by the United States Department of Justice, organized into 3,437 bound volumes that line the walls from floor to ceiling. The event was organized by the Institute for Primary Facts, a nonprofit organization committed to transparency and anti-corruption initiatives.
Epstein’s arrest on sex trafficking charges in July 2019 ended with his death in custody a month later, denying many victims the opportunity for justice. The gallery aims to shed light on numerous cases connected to Epstein that did not reach trial. The displayed materials include documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, timelines, handwritten visitor notes, and a memorial area dedicated to survivors and victims.
Since its opening two weeks ago, the gallery has attracted a consistent flow of visitors, including many survivors of offenses linked to Epstein. Lara Blume McGee, who was 17 at the time of her abuse, visited the reading room last week. “I found something brutally human in the Trump-Epstein reading room,” she told Al Jazeera. “Proof that our lives mattered enough to be gathered, cataloged, and finally seen.”
Blume McGee likened entering the room to stepping into a “paper city,” where the sheer volume of documents served as a visceral reminder of the crisis at hand. “The silence was thick with memory,” she reflected. “Row after row, each bound volume represents a life, a name, a day that should never have happened if the U.S. government had acted when he was first reported to the FBI in 1996.”
The exhibition’s organizers emphasize that the physical presence of the documents compels visitors to confront the magnitude of Epstein’s crimes and the extensive impact on victims’ lives. Thousands of victims have been identified as part of Epstein’s abuse network. Virginia Giuffre, a prominent survivor, died by suicide in April 2025.
David Garrett, a co-founder of the exhibition, stated that the project was built with survivors in mind. “We are centered around the victims and survivors more than anything,” he noted. “The biggest thing is transparency and accountability.”
Garrett characterized the exhibition as part of a broader initiative to create dynamic spaces aimed at fostering public discourse on corruption and institutional failures. “Our goal is to drive public outrage to pressure Congress and the Department of Justice for full transparency and accountability,” he said.
However, compiling the archive presented challenges. Garrett explained that organizers downloaded files from the Department of Justice in March, thinking they had received properly redacted materials. It was only upon printing that they discovered many survivors’ names were visible. “What seems to have happened is the Department of Justice modified its search function rather than redacting names,” he added.
Securing a venue for the exhibition also proved challenging, with multiple locations backing out due to anticipated controversy. The Tribeca gallery ultimately became the fifth venue approached.
Despite these hurdles, support from survivors and advocates remains strong. On Tuesday, the gallery served as the site for a 24-hour livestream reading of the files, conducted by survivors and supporters. Dani Bensky, an Epstein survivor, opened the broadcast, emphasizing the importance of making the documents public.
Throughout the gallery, visitors have left flowers, handwritten notes, and messages reflecting their grief and anger. Garrett recalled one woman who spent hours in silence before revealing that she, too, was a survivor of sexual abuse. “She said this helped her realize that she felt seen,” he said.
For Blume McGee, the experience invokes a mix of relief and frustration. “For years we were told to be quiet, to accept settlements, to move on,” she remarked. “Seeing our truths preserved in a public archive felt like a long-overdue acknowledgment of our pain, our abuse, and our reality.”
While she views the exhibition as a significant step, she cautioned that documentation alone does not equate to justice. “Visibility without consequence only prolongs the wound,” Blume McGee said. “We need both: the files on the table and the government to act—investigate, prosecute, reform—so that being ‘finally seen’ becomes finally safe.”
