Incomplete release of Epstein files angers some Republicans

They fear scandal threatening the party may loom over midterm elections in 2026

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Extensive redactions and the limited number of documents released related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein angered some US Republicans and did little to defuse a scandal threatening the party ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

The Trump administration touted last week's release of a cache of Epstein-related files as a show of transparency, but a handful of Republican lawmakers and right-wing media figures joined Democrats in blasting Dec 19's disclosures as inadequate and possibly in violation of a law that prompted their release.

While the criticism fell short of a broader party backlash, it underscored that the Epstein controversy was far from being put to rest and was likely to linger into 2026, when Republicans will be fighting to keep control of Congress.

The release of files, starting on Dec 19 and followed by a second, much smaller batch released on Dec 20, is intended to comply with a bipartisan law passed by Congress in November that mandated the disclosure of all Epstein files held by the Department of Justice (DOJ), despite a months-long effort to keep them sealed by US President Donald Trump, who once counted Epstein as a close friend.

The new disclosure represented only a fraction of the total data the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and DOJ have said they possess related to Epstein and was heavily redacted, including several documents or 100 pages or more that were entirely blacked out.