The Justice Department will not release all of its files on the Jeffrey Epstein investigation today, despite Donald Trump signing a law which required them to be made public.
Trump announced on November 19 that he'd signed legislation which gave the Justice Department 30 days to release the documents, with the deadline falling today (December 19).
The House Oversight Committee proceeded to put pressure on the Justice Department by releasing batches of photos from Epstein's estate, with California Rep. Robert Garcia, who is the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, stating: "The Department of Justice must release all the files, NOW.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi initially suggested that the Justice Department would adhere to the deadline, saying: "We will continue to follow the law and encourage maximum transparency."
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However, now that the deadline has arrived, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has announced that while the department will release some files before the deadline, it will not release all of them.
Speaking to Fox & Friends, Blanche set expectations in saying the department expects to publish 'several hundred thousand pages' today, followed by more in the coming weeks.
The reason for the delay, Blanche indicated, is due to the fact that the Justice Department is permitted to withhold any records which may identify victims, including images of child sexual abuse, or documents that have been deemed classified.
Blanche explained: "We are looking at every single piece of paper that we are going to produce making sure every victim - their name, their identity, their story, to the extent that it needs to be protected - is completely protected.
"So, today, several hundred thousand, and then over the next couple of weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more. There's a lot of eyes looking at these, so we want to make sure that when we do produce the materials that we're producing, we're protecting every single victim."
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, the lead sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, has responded to the news of the delay to say the Justice Department must 'offer a clear timeline' for the full release.
In a statement to CBS News, Khanna said in part: "If DOJ is producing real documents of interest that are not overly redacted, and if they are clear about a timeline for full production, then that is a positive step. They ultimately must release all of it. The north star remains justice for survivors and holding the rich and powerful men who raped young girls or covered up the abuse accountable.
"They have had months to prepare for this, and they have continually rejected our offer to meet with them about this or to meet with survivor's lawyers about the logistics.
"That said, there are millions of pages of documents they need to go through to protect victim's identities and redact graphic materials. The fact they are even releasing hundreds of thousands of these is a historic moment for survivors across our nation."
The legislation signed by Trump specifically states that the DOJ must release all unclassified records, communications, and investigative materials relating to the Epstein investigation, with the FBI and the Justice Department having previously said that there is more than 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence in the files.
The Justice Department is required to release the files in a 'searchable and downloadable format'.
Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump, US News, Politics, Crime, News
Emily Brown