Overview
- A newly circulated, undated photo from the DOJ’s Epstein files shows Ratner seated beside Jeffrey Epstein with two women whose faces are redacted.
- Emails in the release reference invitations to Ratner, including outreach from Epstein’s assistant and a possible dinner party, with no confirmation he attended.
- Ratner told Fox News and Piers Morgan he had no personal relationship with Epstein, saying the image was taken about 20 years ago at an event his then‑fiancée invited him to.
- Outlets reporting on the files stress that the materials are heavily redacted and that an appearance in the archive does not itself imply wrongdoing.
- The attention comes as Ratner’s documentary Melania opens with roughly $7.0 million at the box office, revisiting 2017 misconduct allegations he denied and for which he was not charged.