The U.S. Justice Department Begins Releasing Hundreds of Thousands of Documents in the Jeffrey Epstein Case

The US Department of Justice will on Friday publish “several hundred thousand” documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, following months of pressure to release government materials concerning the late financier convicted of sexual crimes.

Deputy attorney general Todd Blanche told Fox News that by the end of the day the department would release a substantial body of materials, including photographs and “other materials,” connected to federal investigations into Epstein. He was found dead in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex trafficking.

Blanche acknowledged, however, that the disclosure would be staged. According to him, “several hundred thousand more” documents will become available “over the next few weeks.” “I expect that we will release additional documents over the next couple of weeks, so today—several hundred thousand, and then in the weeks that follow—several hundred thousand more,” he said.

On Friday, December 19, President Donald Trump did not immediately comment on the Justice Department’s actions. At a White House event attended by executives from pharmaceutical companies, he took the unusual step of declining to answer journalists’ questions. “I really don’t want to ruin this by taking questions—even very fair questions that I would like to answer. So I think we need to stop right here,” he said.

The latest release marks another chapter in a protracted saga that has for years held Washington’s attention and fuelled political controversy on both sides of the Atlantic. At the centre of the debate are Epstein’s ties to wealthy and influential figures, including the US president.

Trump has acknowledged that he was acquainted with Epstein in the past and maintained a friendly relationship with him, but says the break occurred more than twenty years ago. He has consistently and forcefully denied any involvement in the sexual offender’s criminal activities.

For several months, Trump and leading Republicans in Congress sought to block the disclosure of Justice Department files containing evidence gathered through multiple criminal and civil investigations into Epstein and his associates. The tactic has angered part of the MAGA electorate, as Trump had pledged during the campaign to make the materials public.

The situation shifted when a bipartisan coalition emerged in Congress to push for a vote on legislation requiring the Justice Department to release the documents. Last month, Trump reversed his position after concluding that the initiative would pass, and urged Republicans to back the disclosure.

The law as adopted gave attorney general Pam Bondi 30 days to hand over the materials, while allowing the department to withhold documents that could compromise ongoing federal investigations or implicate national security concerns. On Friday, the 30-day deadline expires since Trump signed the legislation—the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Blanche insisted that Trump has advocated “full transparency” in the Epstein case “for many years.” At the same time, he acknowledged that the released materials may contain redactions, stressing in his remarks to Fox News: “The most important thing is protecting the victims.”

“We are reviewing every single document that we intend to make public, ensuring that every victim is fully protected.”

Democrats in Congress accused the administration of violating the law, saying that not all materials in the government’s possession were released on Friday. They said they were “examining all available legal options” to force the Justice Department to immediately disclose the files in full.

Robert Garcia and Jamie Raskin—the leading Democrats on the House oversight and judiciary committees, respectively—said that Trump and the Justice Department were “covering up the facts and the evidence” related to a “decades-long, multibillion-dollar, international sex-trafficking network” linked to Jeffrey Epstein.