Today is the DOJ’s deadline to release the Epstein files : NPR

By law, the Justice Department has until Friday to release files related to the life and death of Jeffrey Epstein.

Under Epstein File Transparency Act signed by President Trump last month, the attorney general is directed to “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 the United States Attorney's Offices” related to Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

Specifically, the law targets the disclosure of information about individuals associated with Epstein's criminal activities, any decisions not to charge Epstein and his associates, and “entities (corporate, nonprofit, academic, or government) with known or suspected ties to human trafficking or Epstein's financial networks.”

The files include “more than 300 gigabytes of data and evidence” from criminal cases against Epstein held by the FBI as well as internal Justice Department records. Some of the files include photographs and videos of Epstein's accusers, including minors, as well as other images of abuse that will be suppressed.

The text of the law, which was passed by Congress almost unanimously, also states that “no record shall be withheld, set aside, or edited for reasons of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including of any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”

Ahead of its release, some members of Congress expressed concerns about what could be shared and when. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., one of the sponsors of the bill calling for the release of Epstein's files, shared a 14-minute video online Thursday explaining his expectations.

Massey said he has spoken with attorneys for some of Epstein's victims who say “the FBI has at least 20 names of men accused of sex crimes.”

“So if we get a major proceeding on December 19th and there is not a single name on it of a man accused of a sex crime, sex trafficking, rape or anything like that, then we will know that they have not provided all the documents,” he said. “It's that simple.”

While the law gives the Justice Department 30 days after Trump signs it to release the files, there is notably no mechanism to enforce that deadline or demand penalties if the deadline is not met or if lawmakers argue that some redactions are improper.

The law also includes language allowing material to be redacted for classified national security or foreign policy purposes, or for any purpose “that may jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution.”

Politics in the game

But in recent weeks, Trump has called on the Justice Department to investigate Democrats and financial institutions named in Epstein's private communications released by the House Oversight Committee, complicating potential disclosures.

The Attorney General must submit a report to the House and Senate identifying the categories of records published and withheld, a summary of the corrections made, and “a list of all government officials and politically exposed persons named or referred to in the published materials” without corrections.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters Thursday that Democrats “expect to comply” with Friday's deadline.

“But if the Department of Justice does not enforce what is currently federal law, there will be a strong bipartisan backlash,” he said.

Meanwhile, Democrats and Republicans have routinely released to the House Oversight Committee documents from Epstein's personnel files turned over by his heirs under a subpoena.

How the Trump administration handled the Epstein files, including understatement most of the year—meaning this release likely won't be the end of the story.

Democrats used files and Trump's changing message as one of their few levers of power, they must go after the Republican Party, which controls Congress and the White House.

Before returning to office, Trump and other key figures vowed to release Epstein's files as evidence that a cabal of child predators was under government protection and working to undermine Trump. Now part of Trump's base believes that he himself is part of the cover-up.

Throughout it all, Epstein and Maxwell's accusers say they are frustrated that their allegations of abuse have been used as a political cudgel by politicians in Washington.

“It’s time to put political agendas and party affiliations aside,” Haley Robson, one of the accusers, said at a Nov. 18 news conference outside the Capitol. “This is a human question. We're talking about children. There is no place for exploitation, sexual crimes or exploitation of women in society.”