Democrats rage as Trump admin says it won’t release all Epstein files today

2 hours ago 1

Phoenix, Arizona: The Trump administration is poised to release hundreds of thousands of documents related to the federal investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein today, but won’t make the entire cache of files public for weeks.

The admission by US deputy attorney-general Todd Blanche that not all documents would be released on Friday (Saturday AEDT) – the deadline under a law signed by President Donald Trump 30 days ago – led Democrats to say they were investigating legal options.

The much-anticipated release of the Epstein files comes after months of public pressure, including from many Republicans.

“I expect that we’re going to release several hundred thousand documents today, and those documents will come in all different forms; photographs and other materials associated with all of the investigations into Mr Epstein,” Blanche told Fox News.

“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 of weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more. There’s a lot of eyes looking at these.”

The much-anticipated release of the so-called Epstein files follows months of resistance by Trump, who views the ongoing public interest in Epstein’s connections with powerful figures – particularly Trump himself – as a distraction and a “Democrat hoax”.

But Epstein’s victims say it is necessary to make the files public to achieve justice and potentially reveal new co-conspirators. Epstein died in jail in 2019 awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges; his associate, occasional lover and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

Barbara Davis, Jeffrey Epstein and Cathy Davis attend an event for the Children’s Diabetes Foundation in Colorado in 1982.

Democratic congressmen Robert Garcia and Jamie Raskin said Trump and the Justice Department intended to defy Congress by failing to release all the files by the statutory deadline.

“We are now examining all legal options in the face of this violation of federal law,” they said. “The survivors of this nightmare deserve justice, the co-conspirators must be held accountable, and the American people deserve complete transparency from the DoJ.”

Republicans also expressed frustration. Outgoing congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X: “My goodness, what is in the Epstein files? Release all the files. It’s literally the law.”

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed by Congress and signed by Trump, compels the Justice Department to release “all unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials” in its possession that relate to the investigation and prosecution of Epstein.

The law specifically requires the government to release material related to Maxwell, travel records and flight logs, individuals including government officials referenced in connection with Epstein’s criminal activities or plea agreements, any entities with known or alleged ties to Epstein’s trafficking or financial networks, and any immunity deals and non-prosecution agreements involving Epstein and his associates.

But it permits the government to withhold victims’ personal information, as well as any material that might jeopardise an ongoing investigation.

Blanche said his department had been sifting through the hundreds of thousands of documents to ensure that victims’ identities were “completely protected”.

Epstein survivor Danielle Bensky told TV network MS-NOW she felt “nervous” about Blanche’s statement that the files would be released over coming weeks, but acknowledged some survivors did not think it was realistic that all documents would be made public today.

“The fact that we still haven’t seen anything feels nerve-wracking,” she said.

Republican congressman Thomas Massie, who led the push in Congress to make the files public, said in a long social media video that victims’ lawyers collectively knew of 20 men accused of sex crimes in witness testimony possessed by the FBI.

He said if the documents released on Saturday did not contain the names of any men accused of criminal activity, “then we know they haven’t produced all the documents – it’s that simple”.

Trump is scheduled to speak about the economy at a rally in North Carolina on Friday night, US time, and then fly directly to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for the Christmas break until the new year.

National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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