Justice Department Releases First Epstein Files Under Transparency Act, Saying Hundreds of Thousands of Pages Are Posted and the Review Continues
The U.S. Department of Justice on December 19, 2025, in Washington released the first batch of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case on its website under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche notified Congress in a letter the same day that the department was producing hundreds of thousands of pages of responsive materials in compliance with the act.
President Trump signed the act into law on November 19 as Public Law 119-38, which required the department to make its Epstein-related records publicly available in searchable and downloadable form within 30 days. In his letter, Blanche said that under the leadership of the president and Attorney General Pam Bondi, the department had been working to ensure that all responsive materials were identified, collected, uploaded, reviewed and publicly produced within the statutory deadline.
Blanche wrote that the production includes portions of the FBI New York investigative file for the 2018 Epstein criminal case for child sex trafficking and the 2019 Maxwell criminal case; the FBI Miami investigative file for the 2006 Epstein case; the FBI Miami file for the 2009 Alfredo Rodriguez obstruction case; the FBI New York file for the 2019 investigation into Epstein's death; the file for a threat made against one of Epstein's victims; and investigative materials underlying the Office of the Inspector General's June 2023 report into Epstein's death.
Blanche also said the department was continuing to review additional documents and other items for potential responsiveness and anticipated completing that review over the next two weeks. He reiterated the conclusion of the department's July 6 memorandum: the review had not revealed credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals, nor evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.
According to the Associated Press, the release was dominated by photographs but also included call logs, court records and other documents, many with redactions, and Democrats, some Republicans and Epstein survivors complained that what was posted was only a thin slice of the total and fell short of what the law required. The department said it would continue releasing documents in the weeks ahead.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于美国华盛顿的美国司法部大楼入口标识特写。CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons（联邦固定图库标准图）。 / Photo: Entrance sign detail of the U.S. Department of Justice building in Washington. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (federal fixed-library image).
- 2025-11-19Trump Signs Epstein Files Transparency Act, Requiring the Justice Department to Release All Related Files Within 30 Days
- 2025-12-19Justice Department Releases First Epstein Files Under Transparency Act, Saying Hundreds of Thousands of Pages Are Posted and the Review ContinuesThis story
