Justice Department to Publish Massive Jeffrey Epstein Files, Cites Deadline

The Justice Department on December 19 began a court ordered release of a large tranche of files tied to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, moving to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act that set a statutory deadline for publication. The law requires the Justice Department to make publicly available all unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials in its possession that relate to the investigations and prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. The law was signed by President Trump last month.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox and Friends that the department plans to publish “several hundred thousand” pages in the initial wave and expects “several hundred thousand more” in the weeks that follow. He said the department will include photographs and other material while redacting or withholding information that could identify survivors. Department officials said they are reviewing every document before production to protect victim identities and other sensitive information.

The materials slated for release are extensive in both volume and format. Officials described hundreds of thousands of pages of paper records alongside more than 300 gigabytes of electronic files and physical evidence held by the FBI and the Department of Justice. The set is said to include court filings, criminal investigative files, internal DOJ communications about charging decisions and immunity considerations, flight logs from Epstein’s private plane, Florida police reports, state grand jury records, depositions of staff, an address book, surveillance video from jail facilities, photographs and estate files.

Many pieces of this body of evidence have surfaced previously through litigation and congressional disclosure, but the new statute compels a consolidated searchable and downloadable publication of all unclassified DOJ held material. Earlier in the year the FBI posted more than 1,400 pages online and the department published surveillance video from the night of Epstein’s death and interviews related to Ghislaine Maxwell. Congressional panels have released separate tranches, including more than 33,000 pages in early September and estate materials that drew public attention.

Judicial activity has also shaped access to records. A federal judge recently permitted the department to release transcripts from a grand jury investigation into allegations of abuse in Florida. Even with these prior disclosures, advocates and legal observers said the new release will be examined for completeness and for whether previously sealed or classified material remains unavailable.

Privacy and survivor protection are central to the department’s stated approach. Officials say images and videos depicting victims, including alleged minors, will be withheld or redacted and that a review process is in place to limit exposure of identifying details. How those redaction standards will be applied across a massive and varied dataset remains a key unresolved question.

Observers and lawmakers will be watching how the department stages the releases, which technical portal it uses for public access, the exact volumes and file formats made available, and whether the consolidated collection differs materially from documents already in the public record. Victims advocates, defense counsel for those named and members of Congress are expected to press the department for clarity on these issues in the days ahead.