The Justice Department on Friday released a large tranche of long-awaited investigative files tied to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, encompassing more than 3.5 million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images—about half of the Epstein-related materials collected by the agency, officials said.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the release, which dwarfed earlier disclosures, included emails and large quantities of commercial pornography seized from Epstein’s devices, much of it heavily redacted. He rejected claims the department is concealing a secret list of Epstein associates or shielding President Donald Trump, a former Epstein friend.
The disclosure followed criticism that the DOJ missed a December deadline under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Some documents were briefly removed, others almost entirely redacted, fueling backlash from alleged victims and Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
The files reference contacts with prominent figures, including Elon Musk and the current Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, neither of whom has been accused of wrongdoing. Epstein died in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges under circumstances that, although ruled a suicide, have fueled rampant speculation.
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