US Justice Department Releases Fresh Set Of Over 3 Million Pages, Videos And Images In Jeffrey Epstein Case

The US Department of Justice on Friday released a massive new set of records linked to late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, making public more than three million pages of documents alongside thousands of videos and images.

The disclosure comes amid sustained political pressure and renewed scrutiny of the Epstein case, which continues to cast a shadow over US politics. The release also follows months of criticism over delays in making the files public, as mandated by a new transparency law passed by Congress.

DOJ releases millions of documents under transparency law

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department had published over three million pages of records, along with more than 2,000 videos and nearly 180,000 images related to Epstein. The files were uploaded to the department's official website and form part of a larger cache that had been withheld from an earlier release in December.

The disclosures were made under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, legislation passed after months of public and bipartisan pressure. The law requires the federal government to open its records concerning Epstein and his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

"Today's release marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people and compliance with the act," Blanche said at a news conference announcing the disclosure.

Delays and redactions draw criticism from lawmakers

At the end of last year, the Justice Department acknowledged that more than five million pages still needed to be reviewed. Officials said hundreds of lawyers had to be reassigned to process the material, a move that drew sharp criticism from some members of Congress who argued the administration was failing to meet the law's requirements.

The legislation allows limited redactions, particularly to protect victims and avoid jeopardising ongoing investigations. However, many of the files released so far have been heavily redacted, with some documents almost entirely blacked out. Lawmakers from both parties have expressed frustration, saying the extent of redactions undermines the purpose of the disclosure.

The Epstein case has also become a persistent political issue for President Donald Trump, who has faced falling approval ratings on multiple fronts, including economic management and immigration enforcement.

Blanche says no one shielded, denies existence of client list

Responding to claims that politically sensitive figures were shielded from scrutiny, Blanche insisted that no individual had been protected in the release of the files.

"I can assure that we complied with the statute, we complied with the act," Blanche told reporters. "We did not protect President Trump. We didn't protect or not protect anybody."

Blanche also rejected allegations that the Justice Department concealed a so-called Epstein client list.

"There's this built-in assumption that somehow there's this hidden tranche of information of men that we know about, that we're covering up, or that we're not we're choosing not to prosecute. That is not the case," he said.

"I don't know whether there are men out there that abuse these women. If we learn about information and evidence that allows us to prosecute them, you better believe we will. But I don't think that the public or you all are going to uncover men within the Epstein files that abuse women," Blanche added.

Trump, who socialised with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s before a later falling out, has not been formally accused of wrongdoing in connection with the case and has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein's crimes.