Jeffrey Epstein: DOJ expects to release some—but not all—files Friday despite legal deadline

Politics

Jeffrey Epstein: DOJ expects to release some—but not all—files Friday despite legal deadline

Published Fri, Dec 19 2025

5:44 AM EST

Updated 7 Min Ago

thumbnailDan Mangan@_DanManganWATCH LIVE

Key Points

  • The Department of Justice faces a legally mandated deadline to release all of its Jeffrey Epstein files.
  • Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said "I expect that we're going to release several hundred thousand documents today," but added that other files will be released in the coming weeks.
  • "This is nothing more than a cover up to protect Donald Trump from his ugly past," top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said of the DOJ's plan.

U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photograph taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' sex offender registry March 28, 2017 and obtained by Reuters July 10, 2019.

New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services | Handout | Reuters

A top Department of Justice official on Friday said the department will not release all of its investigative files about the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, but instead will stretch out the release over several weeks.

That plan unveiled by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to partially release the files, for now, seemed to conflict with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which set the deadline for the release of all the files for Friday.

"I expect that we're going to release several hundred thousand documents today," Blanche said during an interview on 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 weeks," Blanche said. "I expect several hundred thousand more."

Blanche said the DOJ is reviewing each file to redact names and identities of Epstein's victims.

"There's a lot of eyes looking at these, and we want to make sure that when we do produce the materials that we're producing, that we're protecting every single victim," he said.

CNBC has asked DOJ for comment on Blanche's statement.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted the DOJ, Blanche, and Attorney General Pam Bondi after the interview, saying, "This is nothing more than a cover up to protect Donald Trump from his ugly past."

"The law Congress passed and President Trump signed was clear as can be — the Trump administration had 30 days to release ALL the Epstein files, not just some," Schumer said in a statement.

"Failing to do so is breaking the law. This just shows the Department of Justice, Donald Trump, and Pam Bondi are hellbent on hiding the truth," he said.

"Senate Democrats are working closely with attorneys for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and with outside legal experts to assess what documents are being withheld and what is being covered up by Pam Bondi," Schumer said. "We will not stop until the whole truth comes out."

The text of the Epstein Files law says: "Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall, subject to subsection (b), make publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in the possession of the Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Attorneys' Offices, that relate to: (1) Jeffrey Epstein including all investigations, prosecutions, or custodial matters. (2) Ghislaine Maxwell."

It is not clear whether there will be any legal consequences if the DOJ fails to meet the deadline for the release, as the department would be the entity to determine whether to prosecute a criminal or civil violation of the statute. Blanche is the second-highest-ranking DOJ official, after Bondi.

Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who co-sponsored the Epstein Files Act, in a statement after Blanche's interview said, "If DOJ is producing real documents of interest that are not overly redacted, and if they are clear about timeline for full production then that is a positive step."

"They're producing 10x what they've given to our oversight committee, but they ultimately must release all of it," Khanna said. "The north star remains justice for survivors and holding the rich and powerful men who raped young girls or covered up the abuse accountable."

Khanna noted that "the law requires to release all unclassified information by today and to provide in the federal register an explanation of anything they redact."

"They have had months to prepare this and they have continually rejected our offer to meet with them about this or to meet with survivors' lawyers about the logistics," Khanna said."

"That said, there are millions of pages of documents they need to go through to protect victim's identities and redact graphic materials. The fact they are even releasing hundreds of thousands of these is a historic moment for survivors across our nation."

The files' ordered release comes after months of controversy over the Trump administration's decision to renege on past promises by top law enforcement officials to make the documents and other evidence public.

In November, Congress overwhelmingly voted to compel the DOJ to release the Epstein files, and President Donald Trump signed that legislation.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a press conference with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, DC, October 15, 2025.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | Afp | Getty Images

Trump, who had been friends with Epstein for years before the two men had a falling out in the early 2000s, had called demands to release the files a Democratic "hoax."

But some of the leading voices in favor of making the documents public were his fellow Republicans.

Trump has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and has denied having been aware of Epstein's serial sexual abuse of underage girls and young women over the years.

The files set to be released are related to federal investigations of Epstein over many years.

The first of those probes ended in 2008, when he agreed to plead guilty to state charges in Florida related to prostitution of a person under age 18. The deal allowed him to avoid harsher federal charges. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

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The 66-year-old Epstein was arrested in July 2019 by federal authorities on child sex trafficking charges.

He killed himself in a Manhattan jail weeks later.

Epstein's former girlfriend, the British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, was charged the following year with crimes related to recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse.

Maxwell was convicted at trial in 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

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This is developing news. Check back for updates.

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