The US Justice Department on Friday began releasing records related to its investigations into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, responding to a deadline set by Congress and reviving a politically sensitive case.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department would release "several hundred thousand documents" from its Epstein-related investigative files, though he cautioned that some material would be withheld due to ongoing investigations or national security concerns.
Blanche told Fox News that lawyers were continuing to review the documents and apply redactions to protect victims, adding that additional files would be released "over the next couple of weeks".
The disclosure follows the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump in November, which required the Justice Department to make public unclassified records related to Epstein, his associate Ghislaine Maxwell and others named in federal investigations within 30 days.
While the law mandated disclosure, it also allowed authorities to redact information identifying potential victims or containing child sexual abuse material, and to withhold documents tied to continuing investigations.
Federal officials are required to submit a report to Congress detailing withheld material within two weeks.
Early reviews indicate that many of the released documents are heavily redacted.
The trove includes hundreds of photographs and investigative files from multiple inquiries into Epstein.
Some files appear to relate to interviews with Epstein’s victims, though much of the substantive content is obscured.
The Justice Department said the scale of the material made it impossible to release all files by the deadline, a move that drew criticism from Democrats on the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees.
Politically charged case
In a joint statement, they accused the department of failing to comply with the law and said they were examining possible legal options.
Epstein was found dead in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
He had previously pleaded guilty in 2008 to procuring a minor for prostitution, a conviction critics have described as a lenient plea deal.
The case has remained politically charged for years, with victims’ advocates and lawmakers from both parties pressing for full transparency around Epstein’s network of associates and any individuals who may have facilitated his crimes.
