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Justice Department Begins Epstein Files Release, Misses Full Deadline

The partial trove drew swift legal threats from Democrats who argue the law required full disclosure today.

Overview

  • The DOJ posted several hundred thousand Epstein-related records on December 19 but did not release the entire cache by the legal deadline, with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche saying more will follow in the coming weeks.
  • Officials said extensive redactions were applied to protect victims, private individuals and sensitive material, and warned some personal data might still appear despite review.
  • Heavy traffic overwhelmed the DOJ website soon after publication, producing queues, glitches and complaints about a nonfunctional search tool.
  • The tranche includes court filings, interview and grand jury transcripts, flight logs, Epstein’s contact book, prison videos and many photos, often heavily redacted; the appearance of public figures in the materials is not evidence of wrongdoing.
  • Senior Democrats accused the administration of violating the transparency law and are weighing legal and oversight steps, and the statute now requires a redactions summary and a list of officials named in the files within 15 days.