US justice department releases more than 3 million new pages of Epstein files

Assistant U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday that the Justice Department has released more than three million pages of documents related to its investigation of disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in a highly anticipated announcement that appears to represent the bulk of the so-called Epstein files that politically harassed Donald Trump.

In a galling press conference, Blanche said the release would include more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, which would be “extensively redacted.” He added that the Trump administration produced approximately 3.5 million pages in an effort to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. He said they included large quantities of commercial pornography and images “that were seized on Epstein’s devices.”

“The department’s collection efforts have identified more than 6 million pages as potentially responsive, including department and FBI emails, interview summaries, images, videos and various other materials collected and generated during the various investigations and prosecutions covered by the law,” Blanche said.

Much of the material became available on the Justice Department’s website during the press conference.

Trump promised during the 2024 campaign to release the Epstein files, but after taking office he spent months downplaying the importance of those files and sometimes lashing out at Republicans who demanded their release.

The files have become Trump’s “worst problem” by far, according to CNN analyst Harry Enten, who noted that while 87 percent of Republicans approved of his overall job performance in a September NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, only 45 percent approved of his handling of the Epstein files.

Under growing pressure from both parties, Trump abruptly changed course in November, signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act while calling the controversy a “Democratic hoax.”

A Justice Department letter to Congress Friday explained that the documents were drawn from primary sources spanning more than 20 years, including the Florida and New York cases against Epstein, the prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell, the investigations into Epstein’s death and several FBI investigations. The department also filed motions in court to disclose additional documents currently covered by protective orders in a civil lawsuit and grand jury documents from a case against corrections officers who worked where Epstein died.

Although an analysis is still underway, the release of the dossier revealed previously unknown financial and social ties between Epstein and prominent political figures.

Documents reveal that Howard Lutnick, Trump’s Commerce Secretary, planned a visit to Epstein’s private island in December 2012 with his wife and children for lunch, although he claimed last year that he and his wife had been so “revolted” by Epstein around 2005 that they decided to “never be in a room with that disgusting person again.”

A day after the scheduled meeting, emails show that Epstein’s assistant forwarded Lutnick a message from Epstein that read: “Nice to see you.” »

Emails also show that Epstein transferred thousands of pounds to former British Ambassador Peter Mandelson’s husband, Reinaldo Avila da Silva, starting in September 2009, just two months after Epstein was released from prison for soliciting prostitution from a minor. The payments included £10,000 for osteopathic tuition and anatomical models, followed by monthly transfers of $2,000, with Mandelson himself asking Epstein in an email to structure the deal as a loan “to avoid a gift tax return”.

Further emails reveal that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, more commonly known as ex-Prince Andrew, attended an intimate dinner at Epstein’s New York home in December 2010 – during the same visit, according to the former prince, she aimed to sever ties with the convicted sex offender, with Peggy Siegal, a journalist, drawing up a guest list that included Woody Allen and George Stephanopoulos.

Blanche said what was withheld were personal and medical records, documents describing deaths, physical abuse and injuries, as well as any depictions of child sexual abuse “that would jeopardize an active federal investigation.” He said the department would submit a report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees listing “all categories of documents disclosed and withheld.”

Approximately 200,000 pages were redacted or withheld based on various legal privileges, including attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine, according to the letter to Congress.

When asked if there were any new names in the filing, Blanche said he had nothing to share.

He said the statement reiterated what “President Trump has been saying for years… detailing his relationship, and lack thereof, with Mr. Epstein, and what he thought of Mr. Epstein.”

The Justice Department has also created an email inbox for victims to report redaction concerns and will allow members of Congress to view unredacted portions under confidentiality agreements. Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who co-authored the Epstein Records Transparency Act to ensure their official release, said the redactions were potentially suspicious.

“The DoJ said it had identified more than 6 million potentially responsive pages, but would only release about 3.5 million of them after review and redaction,” Khanna said in a statement. “I will be looking closely to see if they release what I have requested: the FBI 302 victim interview statements, a draft indictment and prosecution memorandum prepared during the 2007 Florida investigation, and hundreds of thousands of emails and files from Epstein’s computers.”

Just before the files were made public, Blanche told Fox News Digital that “in none of these communications, even while doing his best to disparage President Trump, did Epstein suggest that President Trump had committed anything criminal or had inappropriate contact with any of his victims.” Later in his press conference, the deputy attorney general said he wanted to dispel rumors that Trump and the Justice Department were working hand in hand on Epstein.

“What we told our reviewers was that was the goal…there’s this mantra that, oh, you know, the Justice Department is supposed to protect Donald J. Trump, and that’s what we were saying, that’s not true,” Blanche told reporters. “This has never been the case. We are always concerned about the fate of the victims.”

The massive document dump follows weeks of delay after the department acknowledged in a Jan. 5 letter that only 12,285 documents totaling 125,575 pages had been released to date, far short of the Dec. 19 deadline imposed by the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in the letter that “more than 2 million potentially legally compliant documents” were being reviewed in various phases at the time.

Documents released in previous batches under the law detailed systemic failures by law enforcement officials to stop Epstein’s abuse and included graphic testimony about recruitment methods used to entrap victims.

Previous disclosures under the law included grand jury testimony describing how Maxwell allegedly asked one victim to recruit other girls, telling her “they had to at least look young,” although the victim refused, saying she “didn’t want anyone else to go through that.”