US Justice Department begins releasing Epstein files – DW – 12/19/2025

The US Justice Department has started releasing files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

The documents are expected to reveal more details about Epstein’s ties to powerful people, including politicians and business figures.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch had said earlier in the day that several million documents would be released Friday.

Documents related to Jeffrey Epstein are to be released by the Justice Department at midnight local time (0500 UTC).

The deadline is set by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump on November 19 after a nearly unanimous vote in Congress.

US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said all documents related to Jeffrey Epstein would not be released Friday despite a legal deadline.

Blanch told conservative Fox News broadcaster that several million documents would be released on Friday.

“In the next few weeks…I expect several hundred thousand more films to be released,” said Blanch.

Blanch’s comments were sharply criticized by many MPs.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement, “The Trump administration had 30 days to release all of the Epstein files, not just some. Failing to do so is breaking the law.”

Democratic lawmakers Jamie Raskin and Robert Garcia issued a joint statement accusing Trump and the Justice Department of “violating federal law”, and said they were “examining all legal options” to deal with the alleged violations.

Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who announced late last month that she would resign in January over disagreements with the Trump administration, also urged the release of all files.

“Oh my God, what’s in the Epstein files? Release all the files. It’s literally the law,” he said in a post on X.

Epstein file release delay impacts MAGA movement

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The deadline for the US Justice Department to release documents related to late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is approaching.

The deadline was established by The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law by US President Donald Trump in late November after the bill passed Congress almost unanimously.

Democratic lawmakers published 68 images from the Epstein estate ahead of the deadline.

Releasing Epstein-related documents was one of Trump’s campaign promises during the November 2024 election, which he later attempted to ease early in his term, a move that drew outrage from his own base.

Stay tuned for DW’s coverage of the Epstein-related documents and their release.