The Justice Department finally released its first collection of Jeffrey Epstein files on Friday afternoon—with its search tool broken.
files were divided into court records, DOJ disclosures, Freedom of Information Act disclosures, and House Oversight and Government Reform disclosures. There is also a search bar that contains the disclaimer: “Due to technical limitations and the format of certain materials (such as handwritten text), portions of these documents may not be electronically searchable or may not produce reliable search results.”
The government was required by law to release all the files on Friday, but it took its time and ultimately released only a partial batch. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche promised to release more files in the coming weeks in an interview with Fox News on Friday morning.
Many of the published files are almost completely edited.
In a statement after the release of the files, the White House absurdly declared“The Trump administration is the most transparent in history.”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson continued:
By releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with a House Oversight Committee subpoena, and recently calling on President Trump to further investigate Epstein's Democratic friends, the Trump administration has done more for victims than Democrats ever did. And while President Trump is making good on his promises, Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries and Stacey Paskett have yet to explain why they begged for money and met with Epstein after he was convicted of a sex crime. The American people deserve answers.
This statement ignores the fact that Republicans in Congress, led by House Speaker Mike Johnson, delayed and delayed the release of the files for months. Johnson used the government shutdown to delay swearing in Democratic Party Representative Adelita Grijalva, who had the casting vote in the motion to dismiss demanding the release of the files. The petition was signed by all Democrats, but only four Republicans: Representatives Thomas Massie, Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Nancy Mace.
Trump still refuses to acknowledge his close relationship with Epstein and inverted on the files only after he realized that public (and Republican) opinion strongly supported the government releasing them. Friday's release is the first look at what the Trump administration is prepared to tell the public about what the government knows about Epstein, much of which people already knew. However, by law they must publish anything that does not pose a danger to victims.
This story has been updated.
