US JUSTICE DEPT. RELEASES MILLIONS OF NEW DOCUMENTS, IMAGES, VIDEOS FROM EPSTEIN FILES
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Agency report
The US Justice Department on Friday announced the release of millions of additional pages from the Jeffrey Epstein files, alongside photos and videos, a move that is intensifying a political storm placing renewed pressure on President Donald Trump.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said more than three million pages of documents connected to the convicted sex offender were being made public on the department’s website, together with 180,000 images and 2,000 videos.
“Today’s release marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people,” Blanche said at a press conference.
He explained that all images of girls and women were redacted, except those of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of trafficking underage girls for Epstein and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
“We did not redact images of any men unless it was impossible to redact the woman without also redacting the man,” the deputy attorney general said.
The fresh release is expected to include previously unseen material from the investigation into Epstein, the wealthy US financier who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking of underage girls. His death was ruled a suicide.
Earlier disclosures had already revealed Epstein’s connections to prominent business figures, celebrities, academics, and politicians, including Trump and former president Bill Clinton.
Among the most notable documents released so far are two FBI emails from July 2019 that reference 10 “co-conspirators” linked to Epstein. However, only one person—his former girlfriend Maxwell—has been charged in relation to his crimes, and the alleged co-conspirators’ names remain redacted.
According to Axios, key documents yet to be released include a draft 60-count federal indictment of Epstein that was mysteriously dropped and an 82-page prosecution memo from 2007.
Although Trump, a former associate of Epstein, and Clinton both appear frequently in the records made public, neither has been accused of wrongdoing.
A Republican-led House panel recently voted to initiate contempt of Congress proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton over their refusal to testify before its Epstein-related probe.
Trump, 79, had for months opposed the release of the massive collection of documents, but internal pressure within the Republican Party eventually forced him to approve legislation mandating their disclosure.
‘We Did Not Protect President Trump’
The Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) required the Justice Department to publish all Epstein-related documents by December 19.
Blanche said Friday’s release brings the department into compliance with the act, attributing earlier delays to the extensive redaction process aimed at protecting the identities of more than 1,000 victims.
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However, widespread redactions and tight control over the rollout by the Trump administration have fueled allegations of a high-level cover-up.
Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal lawyer, dismissed claims that the department was shielding the president.
“We complied with the act,” he said. “We did not protect President Trump. We didn’t protect or not protect anybody.”
He added that the White House had no role in the document review process.
“They had no oversight over this review,” he said. “They did not tell this department how to do our review, what to look for, what to redact, or what to not redact.”
After Trump’s name began appearing in the released files, the Justice Department issued a statement noting that some documents “contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump.”
Nevertheless, existing records confirm that Trump once had a close association with Epstein, moving in the same elite social circles in New York and Florida, and flying multiple times on Epstein’s private jet.
A January 2020 note from New York federal prosecutors investigating Maxwell indicated that Trump made eight trips on Epstein’s plane between 1993 and 1996.
Trump has offered differing explanations over the years about why he eventually severed ties with Epstein and has criticised the document releases, warning that people who “innocently met” Epstein could have their reputations unfairly damaged.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Clinton has urged the Justice Department to release all materials relating to the former president, insisting that he has nothing to hide.
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