FBI Training Videos Told Agents to Flag Epstein Files Mentioning Trump for Review; DOJ Is Withholding Them, Journalist Claims

Journalist Allison Gill says newly described FBI training materials show agents were taught to flag certain Epstein-related records for supervisory review, with sources telling her that documents mentioning Donald Trump were among those identified.

An FBI declaration filed by the Department of Justice on 2 October confirms that the bureau identified nine responsive training videos, including two demonstrating how personnel should flag documents for further review by a supervisor.

The declaration itself does not identify Trump as part of those instructions. That portion of the account rests on Gill's confidential sources. The FBI is withholding all nine videos in full while a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by Gill's MSW Media continues in federal court.

Nine Videos Outline the FBI Review Process

The training materials were used to instruct FBI personnel involved in reviewing and redacting Epstein-related records, according to court filings in the MSW Media lawsuit.

The nine videos cover different parts of the review process, including redaction procedures, handling sensitive information, and circumstances in which documents should be escalated for further review.

Two of the videos are officially described as screen recordings showing Information Management Division personnel how to flag a document for further review by a supervisor using FBI SharePoint.

The FBI declaration does not say that Trump's name was specifically included in those instructions. Gill, however, says sources familiar with the review told her that documents containing Trump's name were among those subject to the flagging process.

The FBI has withheld all nine videos in full, citing several FOIA exemptions, including provisions covering internal government communications, personal privacy, and law-enforcement techniques and procedures.

Earlier Disclosure Adds Context

The allegation that FBI personnel were instructed to flag Trump mentions predates the latest court filing. On 18 July 2025, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said his office had received information that personnel reviewing Epstein-related records were instructed to 'flag' any records in which Trump was mentioned.

Durbin asked the FBI what happened to those records after they were identified and whether a log had been maintained documenting the flagged material. He has subsequently described the information as coming from a whistleblower disclosure to his office.

The allegation does not establish that the instruction was unlawful or that Trump-related records were later removed from public disclosure. Likewise, the existence of a supervisory review process does not by itself show that officials created it to protect Trump or any other individual.

Millions of Epstein Records Have Already Been Released

The dispute comes against the backdrop of the DOJ's large-scale release of Epstein-related material. On 30 January 2026, the department said it had released nearly 3.5 million pages in total under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, including more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.

The DOJ said some material was not publicly produced because it was duplicative, privileged, subject to statutory exceptions or unrelated to the Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases. It has also said reviewers were instructed to protect information identifying victims and their families.

The existence of a supervisory flagging system therefore does not, on its own, demonstrate that a document was improperly withheld. The appearance of Trump's name, or any other person's name, in Epstein-related records also does not by itself establish wrongdoing or criminal conduct.

Fresh FOIA Rulings Increase Pressure on DOJ

The MSW Media dispute is one of several legal fights over access to Epstein-related government records. In a separate case on 30 September 2026, US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the Democracy Defenders Fund was entitled to expedited processing for several FOIA requests concerning Epstein records and the government's handling of them.

The court found that the requests involved widespread and exceptional media interest and raised possible questions about government integrity affecting public confidence. Kollar-Kotelly granted expedited treatment for the group's 22 July 2025 request and most portions of requests filed on 28 July, while narrowing some categories that sought records involving a broader range of DOJ officials.

The ruling accelerated the processing of the covered requests. It did not order the immediate release of every requested document, and the Democracy Defenders Fund case is separate from MSW Media's lawsuit over the FBI training videos.

For MSW Media's case, the central unresolved question is how the FBI's review rules operated in practice. The government's own filing establishes that the training videos existed and that two instructed personnel how to flag records for supervisory review. But until the footage itself is publicly released, the claim that Trump's name was specifically incorporated into those instructions remains based on Gill's source accounts rather than publicly viewable video.