Journalist Who Helped Expose Jeffrey Epstein Questions Why DOJ Was Tracking Her

Julie K. Brown — the Miami Herald reporter whose investigative work helped reopen the Jeffrey Epstein case — says she expected her name to appear in the recently released Epstein files. What she didn’t expect, however, was to find her personal flight records included among the government documents.

Brown wrote that she discovered the information while reviewing materials from the latest document release by the Department of Justice. The records appeared as part of a grand jury subpoena requesting business documents from American Airlines, which included an itinerary for flights she booked in July 2019 — just days before Epstein was arrested.

In a December 28 Substack post, Brown said the itinerary listed her maiden name, which she does not use professionally, making it clear to her that the entry referred to her specifically. She questioned why her travel details were swept into the files.

Does somebody at the DOJ want to tell me why my American Airlines booking information and flights in July 2019 are part of the Epstein files (attached to a grand jury subpoena)? As the flight itinerary includes my maiden name (and I did book this flight) why was the DOJ… pic.twitter.com/m1mgP6pdgk

— julie k. brown (@jkbjournalist) December 28, 2025

“Since the itinerary includes my maiden name — and I did take this flight — why was the DOJ monitoring me?” Brown asked in a post on X.

So far, the Justice Department has not provided a public explanation for why her information appeared in the database.

Brown’s acclaimed three-part investigation, Perversion of Justice, published in 2018, helped bring renewed scrutiny to Epstein’s earlier plea deal and the scope of his abuse network. Her reporting was widely credited with spurring federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York to bring new criminal charges in July 2019.

Epstein was later found dead in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial.

The flight record Brown uncovered showed a round trip from Austin, Texas to Little Rock, Arkansas, with a return scheduled for July 8, 2019 — the same day Epstein was taken into federal custody. Brown said she had booked and taken the trip.