Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department will release “several hundred thousand documents.” Jeffrey Epstein investigation materials on Friday, but there is much more to come.
“I expect that today we will release several hundred thousand documents, and these documents will be presented in a variety of forms – photographs and other materials related to all the investigations into Mr. Epstein,” Blanche said. Fox News.
“I expect we will release more documents in the next couple of weeks,” he said. “So today, a few hundred thousand, and then over the next few weeks, I'm expecting a few hundred thousand more.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the delay violates Epstein File Transparency Act — The law was passed last month, so the Justice Department will release the documents.
law gives the attorney general 30 days to “publish in a searchable and downloadable format all unclassified records, documents, communications and investigations in the Department of Justice's possession” involving Epstein, “including all investigations, prosecutions or custody matters.”
Blanche suggested the delay was partly due to a part of the law that requires victims' information to be redacted. The law allows limited exceptions, including to protect the victim's identity or to avoid jeopardizing any active investigation.
“We go through every piece of paper that we're going to prepare to make sure that every victim – their name, their identity, their story – to the extent that they need protection is fully protected,” Blanche said.
Schumer said in a statement that the law “is as clear as possible – the Trump administration had 30 days to release ALL of Epstein's files, not just some. Failure to do so is a violation of the law,” Schumer said in a statement. “This just shows that the Department of Justice, Donald Trump and Pam Bondi are hell-bent on hiding the truth,” Schumer added.
Reps. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., ranking member of the Oversight Committee, and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, said in a joint statement that “we are now considering all legal options in the face of this violation of federal law.” The Oversight Committee, which separately investigated Epstein's case, has already released thousands of records from both the Justice Department and Epstein's estate.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Blanche said the Justice Department has been “working tirelessly” since Trump signed the law requiring the release of the files “to make sure that we get every document that we have at the Department of Justice, review it and get it out to the American public.”
“I expect we will release more documents in the next couple of weeks,” he said.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, a co-sponsor of the bill, seemed unmoved by Blanche's arguments: tweet a screenshot of the law shortly after the interview aired, noting the deadline for publishing files and the word “everyone.”
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Massie's co-author, said even a partial release is a “positive step” but that the government must provide a “clear timeline for full release.”
“If the Department of Justice is releasing genuine documents of interest that are not excessively redacted, and if they clearly outline timelines for full production, then that is a positive step,” Khanna said in a statement.
There are “millions of pages of documents they need to review to protect victims' identities and redact graphic materials. The fact that they are even releasing hundreds of thousands of these documents is a historic moment for survivors across our country,” Khanna said, but the agency “must offer a clear timeline today for full release.”
“The main thing is that they will publish the names of all the influential men in question who abused underage girls or hid it. They must provide a clear framework for survivors and the nation by the time we go public,” he said.
In an interview with NBC News Earlier this week, Khanna outlined some of the consequences Justice Department officials could face if they don't follow the law.
While they likely won't be charged under the current administration, “they may be subject to prosecution given federal law, and the statute of limitations will likely come under the new administration,” Hanna said.
They also “could be brought before the Congressional Oversight Committee,” and “victims could file federal lawsuits” for any failure to act.
