Justice department must release most documents by Friday, and failure to do so would provoke a firestorm
In less than 48 hours, Donald Trump’s justice department must release most of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein in its possession. Last month, Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the release of those materials by 19 December, except in narrow cases where they would jeopardize current investigations, harm national security or foreign policy goals, or reveal information about Epstein’s victims.
Since Trump signed the legislation, his administration has been silent on its progress. Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of lawmakers asked Pam Bondi, the attorney general, for a briefing on the department of justice’s progress, but she did not provide one. Two Democratic senators among that group subsequently pledged to block some civilian nominees, because they were concerned the administration “is gearing up to disregard the law we led the fight in the Senate to pass, which overwhelmingly passed both chambers of Congress”.
It’s not clear what remedy could follow if the justice department does not heed the law mandating disclosure, though such a move would surely provoke a political firestorm. If the files are released, they could contain hundreds of thousands of pages related to investigations into the late sex trafficker, including additional victims’ claims and the names of his high-profile associates. The documents might also lift the veil on how Epstein – who counted Trump and the former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor among his powerful friends – evaded justice for decades.
