US Justice Department to Release Epstein Files by Deadline

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche also said in an interview with “Fox and Friends” magazine that a new accusation regarding the scandal that continues to shake America will not happen anytime soon.

Prosecutors have the authority to preserve material related to active investigations, and Blanche said documents will be meticulously redacted to protect the identities of hundreds of Epstein’s victims.

Epstein, a wealthy financier with ties to global elites, died in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

His death, ruled a suicide, fueled conspiracy theories and demands for accountability in a case where enormous wealth, political influence and perceived impunity intersect.

President Donald Trump, once a close friend of Epstein, fought for months to prevent the release of the Epstein files held by the Justice Department.

But on November 19, he bowed to pressure from Congress, including the Republican Party, and signed a law requiring the materials to be released within 30 days.

Friday is the last day for the release of the long-awaited recordings.

“I expect we will release several hundred thousand documents today,” Blanche said. “And those documents will come in different forms, photographs and other materials related to all investigations into Mr. Epstein.

“So I’m expecting a few hundred thousand today and another couple hundred thousand in the next few weeks,” Blanche said.

“As of today, no new accusations have been made, but we are investigating,” he added.

For Trump, this moment carries enormous personal and political sensitivity.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly claimed that prominent Democrats and Hollywood figures are shielded from accountability, citing the Epstein scandal as evidence that money and influence can subvert the justice system.

But the president himself counted Epstein, who lived in the same Palm Beach and New York circles in the 1990s and appeared with him at parties for years, among his social friends.

– ‘Democrats’ fabrication’

The president had cut ties with Epstein years before his arrest in 2019 and was not accused of abuse of power in the case.

After returning to office and receiving unilateral authority to release the files, Trump rejected a yearslong push for transparency that he once promoted as a “Democrat hoax.”

He fought Congress over making the records public, but gave up and signed the Epstein files bill after broad bipartisan consensus made opposition untenable.

For the public and the survivors, the release of the files marks the clearest opportunity yet to shed light on the scandal.

Newly released records could clarify how Epstein operated, who helped him and whether prominent figures took advantage of corporate restrictions.

The law requires the unsealing of extensive internal correspondence, investigative files and court documents that were previously sealed or inaccessible.

They could uncover new partners and explain why prosecutors have stalled for years, but expectations of a “client list” are likely misplaced, as the Justice Department has said no such list exists.

Trump recently ordered investigations into Democrats with ties to Epstein, prompting speculation that those investigations could be cited as justification for withholding the records.

Epstein amassed powerful allies, protected luxury properties where the abuse allegedly occurred, and secured a highly contentious plea deal in 2008 in a separate case that critics said may have protected unnamed co-conspirators.

Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, is the only person charged in connection with his activities. The former British socialite is serving a 20-year prison sentence for crimes including sex trafficking of minors.