WASHINGTON (TNND) — The Department of Justice will not meet its deadline to release all of its files on Jeffrey Epstein on Friday under the bill passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump earlier this year.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said during an appearance on Fox News the department would be releasing “several hundred thousand” files on Friday but indicated it was not including everything in the department’s possession as required by the legislation.
“What we’re doing is we are looking at every single piece of paper that we are going to produce, making sure that every victim, their name, their identity, their story, to the extent it needs to be protected, is completely protected. And so I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks. So today, several hundred thousand and then over the next couple weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more.”
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said the department’s failure to release all the files was a violation of the law passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump and they are “examining all legal options.”
“For months, Pam Bondi has denied survivors the transparency and accountability they have demanded and deserve and has violated the Oversight Committee’s subpoena. The Department of Justice is now making clear it intends to defy Congress itself, even as it gives star treatment to Epstein’s convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.”
The Epstein Files Transparency Act ordered DOJ to release all its unclassified records and documents connected to the convicted sex offender. It comes amid a slow drip of files from Epstein’s estate being released by congressional panels amid an outcry from the public about a perceived lack of transparency on the case.
DOJ hasn’t said exactly when it will release the files, but the bill gave the department a deadline of Friday to comply.
The DOJ Spokesperson X account said the following amid claims the agency was not complying with the order: “Ridiculous framing. The DOJ is releasing a massive tranche of new documents that the Biden and Obama administrations refused to release. The story here: the Trump administration is providing levels of transparency that prior administrations never even contemplated. The initial deadline is being met as we work diligently to protect victims.”
The bill allowed DOJ to make redactions to files to protect victims and the investigation but did not give it a rolling deadline to release everything in its possession. Congress must be notified within 15 days of the rationale for why files are withheld or redacted.
House Democrats released dozens of new photos on Thursday from the tens of thousands the Oversight Committee received from his estate through a subpoena asking for images in his possession before his death. Previous disclosures have shown Epstein with other powerful figures like former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and Trump.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who led the charge for the discharge petition, said in a video posted to social media that he is expecting at least 20 clients of Epstein to be named when the files released. Attorneys representing the victims confirmed the identities of the men and if they do not appear, it would mean the full files haven’t been released, he said.
Pressure to release the government’s files on Epstein mounted this year after the administration walked back on campaign promises to release more information. What information had been released yielded few new details, intensifying the outcry over a lack of transparency.
Trump had resisted releasing more files for months and pressured House Republicans not to back the bill. Once enough Republicans signed onto a discharge petition forcing a vote on the release of the bill, Trump reversed course and said he would sign the bill, helping it sail through Congress.