Who Sent Jeffrey Epstein a Gizmodo Article About Deleting Your Google History?

The Epstein files are filled with emails containing plenty of news articles. So it’s not a huge surprise that the word Gizmodo shows up 35 times in a search of the U.S. Department of Justice’s repository of documents about the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. But one email about a Gizmodo article really caught our eye.

Searching through the files, sometimes Gizmodo appears in news round-ups for services like the dead social media site Google+, while other times people sent Epstein specific articles that may have been of interest. In the case of the latter, one article jumped out to us, and we’re really curious why the name of the person who sent that article to Epstein is redacted.

On April 21, 2015, someone sent Epstein an email that included a link to Gizmodo’s article titled “Now You Can Download Your Google History—Or Better Yet, Delete It.” The person who sent the email has had their name redacted, which suggests that it could be a victim. But there are plenty of other instances in the newly released files that suggest folks at DOJ have redacted well beyond the names of victims as required by law.

The crux of the Gizmodo article from 2015 is that there are plenty of things in your Google search history that you wouldn’t want others to have access to, especially as a journalist. The author of that article, Sean Hollister, noted that someone would be able to figure out sensitive stories he’s working on and exact addresses. Porn searches are another element, and that’s clearly where our mind initially went when we saw this article in the Epstein files. And frankly, it’s horrifying to think about what Epstein’s Google searches might reveal.

The Epstein files include chats where Epstein appears to be receiving photos from an 18th birthday party; they include unseen attachments where people were sending photos and short messages that simply say “age 10” and “age 11“; they include emails that say things like “the most beautiful part of my day, my niece.” It’s chilling to say the least.

But we don’t know the names of the people who were sending these emails. It’s possible they were victims themselves, but we just don’t know. And we have no idea if we’ll ever learn about the accomplices in a way that will bring about justice.

Another instance of Gizmodo in the Epstein files is a discussion about possibly initiating a lawsuit against us for reporting on sexual harassment claims being made against theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss. It looks like Epstein was advising Krauss on what to do about the claims, and a lawsuit against Gizmodo was never filed. Krauss has told the New York Times that the accusations against him are false.

Members of Congress will start to have some access to the unredacted files this week. And we’d appreciate it if someone with eyes on the most sensitive files could just let us know if the people being redacted are victims or potential co-conspirators. There are over 3 million pages that were most recently released, and journalists are still combing through everything. But there are about 3 million additional pages that haven’t been released, according to the Associated Press.

We’ve learned a fair amount about the disgusting ways that Epstein would chat with people and hint at even greater crimes in his emails. But the only real consequences for powerful people seem to be in Europe. And lawmakers should hopefully make use of their access to flag anything that looks suspicious about the redactions.

Ghislaine Maxwell, the only person convicted of crimes related to Epstein’s sex trafficking, was called to testify in front of a House oversight committee on Monday, but she invoked the Fifth Amendment and didn’t answer any questions. Her attorney said she’d be happy to chat under one condition: “Ms. Maxwell is prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency by President Trump.”