Epstein files aren’t out yet, and DOJ says not all will be released Friday
Friday is the deadline for the Department of Justice to reveal the full scope of its investigations into deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. But by 2 p.m., the department had not yet produced anything and officials had already made clear that DOJ would not be releasing all of its files.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News that he expected several hundred thousand files would be released first on Friday, then “several hundred thousand more” in following weeks. He said that the department has worked “tirelessly” to review every page, and redact victim information.
His statement prompted immediate pushback from Congressional leaders. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, posted a photo on social media of the law highlighting the word “all.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia who had a public feud with Trump over backing the release of the files, also criticized the DOJ Friday afternoon. “My goodness, what is in the Epstein files?” she wrote on social media. “Release all the files. It’s literally the law.”
House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) released a joint statement in response around noon.
“Donald Trump and the Department of Justice are now violating federal law as they continue covering up the facts and the evidence about Jeffrey Epstein’s decades-long, billion-dollar, international sex trafficking ring,” they wrote. “We are now examining all legal options in the face of this violation of federal law.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers crafted the new law, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, to force the government to make the Epstein case material public following intense debate in Washington, and initial resistance from President Donald Trump.
In November, it was signed into law by the president, giving the Attorney General 30 days to release the documents, or until Friday, Dec. 19.
Attorneys and staff at the Justice Department have been scrambling to redact the files in time, according to CNN. The names of victims and their identifying factors, as well as materials deemed part of an open criminal investigation will be scrubbed from the files. However, the names of people suspected of being involved with Epstein are supposed to be made public. Representatives who sponsored the act have warned that any violations of the measure could lead to prosecution.
The act does not specify any penalties, but notes that the Attorney General must submit to the House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary a summary of redactions and their legal basis within 15 days of completion of the release.
“Anyone who tampers with these documents, or conceals documents, or engages in excessive redaction, will be prosecuted, because of obstruction of justice,” said California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna on social media on Thursday. “Finally, rich and powerful men who raped underage girls, who covered up for this abuse, will be held accountable.”
In the run-up to Trump’s campaign for a second term in 2024, Trump and his supporters made the case part of the campaign.
Trump indicated he would release at least some of the case files, and his new attorney general, Pam Bondi, promised full transparency.
But Bondi failed to fulfill that promise, causing a public outcry that only grew after she and FBI Director Kash Patel reversed course in July in a memo and closed the case, noting that there was no “credible” evidence that Epstein had blackmailed prominent individuals, or evidence to investigate anyone, other than Epstein, for committed crimes.
Trump criticized attention on the files and called them a hoax, amidst scrutiny into his own friendship with Epstein.
“We have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party,” Trump said in November before signing the act into law.
The House Oversight Committee has also been separately releasing thousands photos and files produced by Epstein’s estate. Among the files was a “Birthday Book,” that contained an intimately worded drawing and poem, purportedly written and signed by Trump in 2003. Trump has denied the drawing — and the signature — were his.
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On Thursday, they released another 68 of about 95,000 photos the committee has obtained. The new photos, taken alongside earlier releases of photographs and e-mail messages, provide deeper evidence into Epstein’s international sex trafficking.
Read More: New photos, emails show evidence of Epstein’s international sex trafficking
Unsealing the Epstein Files will cap off years of intense political debate in Washington which began in 2018, when the Miami Herald published an investigation called “Perversion of Justice” into the case that raised questions about the lenient deal federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida struck with Epstein and revealed that victims had been cut out of the process.
Seven months after publication of the Herald’s reporting, Epstein was arrested by prosecutors in New York. He died a month later in federal prison. His death was ruled a suicide by hanging.
The case continued to attract more scrutiny in 2021 as the DOJ successfully prosecuted Epstein’s accomplice and ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
This story was originally published December 19, 2025 at 2:35 PM.
