Has the DOJ now released all the Epstein files?
On Friday, the Department of Justice was required by law to release its files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. lawmakers say they are “exploring all options” after the Department of Justice (DOJ) released an incomplete, heavily-redacted tranche of documents relating to investigations into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed last month, the DOJ had until Friday to disclose “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” in its possession.
Approved near-unanimously by Congress, the legislation was on Nov. 19 signed into law by President Donald Trump, who had earlier reversed his long-standing opposition to the publication of the so-called ‘Epstein files’.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) December 19, 2025
“Fails to comply with both spirit and letter of law”
On Friday, however, the DOJ did not release the entirety of its files on the disgraced financier, while some documents that were included in the data dump were heavily blacked out.
Rep. Thomas Massie, the Republican congressman who co-led the effort to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, said in an X post that Friday’s document disclosure “grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law” signed by President Trump a month ago.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, who also led the drive to pass the Epstein bill, said the DOJ was guilty of an “incomplete release with two many redactions”, adding that he and Massie are “exploring all options”.
“We will work with the survivors to demand the full release of these files,” Khanna said on X.
Khanna noted, for example, that one 119-page document included in Friday’s data disclosure has been “totally blacked out”. “Our law requires [the DOJ] to explain redactions,” he said. “There’s not a single explanation for why that entire document was redacted.”
The DOJ’s document dump of hundreds of thousands of pages failed to comply with the law authored by @RepThomasMassie and me.
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) December 19, 2025
One document, 119 pages of Grand Jury testimony, was completely redacted.
I explain what is missing and what the survivors and their lawyers are still… pic.twitter.com/Wg1xFIM2vE
“A fraction of whole body of evidence”
Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader, demanded “answers as to why” such wholesale redactions have taken place.
“This set of heavily redacted documents released by the Department of Justice today is just a fraction of the whole body of evidence,” Schumer said on X. “Simply releasing a mountain of blacked out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law.”
Earlier on Friday, the U.S.’s deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, had warned that the DOJ did not plan to share all documents before the deadline imposed by the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
“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,” Blanche told Fox News.
“And so, I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks - so today, several hundred thousand, and over the next couple of weeks I expect several hundred thousand more.”
Blanche on Epstein files: "Today is the 30 days. I expect we're going to release several hundred thousand documents today, and those documents will come in all different forms -- photographs ... just so everybody appreciates -- President Trump has said for years that he wants… pic.twitter.com/zRaeAb2fR6
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 19, 2025
“No smoking guns”
Epstein died by an apparent suicide in a New York jail in August 2019, having been arrested and charged with the sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York.
A decade earlier, Epstein served just over a year of an 18-month sentence in Florida, after pleading guilty to charges of felony solicitation and procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution.
Epstein’s former girlfriend, the British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, was in 2021 convicted of conspiring with him to sexually abuse minors. She is currently serving a 20-year sentence at a federal prison in Texas.
Epstein’s known associations with a raft of major personalities - from the worlds of royalty, politics, business, entertainment, and more - have given rise to widespread speculation over who might be linked to his crimes.
However, Friday’s partial disclosure appears to include “no smoking guns”, says CNN analyst Aaron Blake.
Major Epstein accuser alleged Andrew abuse
A prominent Epstein accuser, Virginia Giuffre, long alleged that Epstein and Maxwell trafficked her to the British former Prince Andrew in 2001, when Giuffre was 17.
Andrew, who denies any wrongdoing, in 2022 reached an out-of-court settlement in a civil lawsuit brought by Giuffre. His association with Epstein led his brother, King Charles III, to strip him of his royal titles in October.
Giuffre died by suicide in April, six months before the publication of her memoir Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice.
Related stories
Get your game on! Whether you’re into NFL touchdowns, NBA buzzer-beaters, world-class soccer goals, or MLB home runs, our app has it all.
Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more – plus, stay updated on the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.
Complete your personal details to comment