DOJ releases more Epstein files after pressure from Congress

Trump had initially urged Republicans to oppose law forcing disclosure of files

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The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has released a new trove of documents from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, bowing to pressure from lawmakers who forced their disclosure with a new law.

The Dec 19 release follows months of political wrangling amid rebellion by some of President Donald Trump’s staunchest supporters over his administration’s reluctance to make public all records tied to the probes.

Reuters is in the process of reviewing the latest documents.

The DOJ added a note to the webpage where it posted links to the documents that said “all reasonable efforts have been made” to redact victims’ personal information, but warned that some could be disclosed inadvertently.

The department’s website appeared to be struggling with visitor traffic, telling some that their attempts to view the material had been rejected.

Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche told Fox News earlier on Dec 19 that the department would release hundreds of thousands of documents but not the entire cache of files relating to Epstein. He said he expected hundreds of thousands more to be released in the coming weeks as the department reviewed them to protect victims’ privacy.