The deadline for Trump’s justice department to release the files came and went, but experts say there are still options
For months, the 2025 news cycle was dominated by the disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Public outrage over the continued secrecy surrounding Epstein investigative files – which Donald Trump failed to release fully early in his second term, despite campaign promises – was growing.
Federal lawmakers took matters into their own hands: they issued a spate of subpoenas related to the late child sex trafficker, releasing batches of files that renewed attention to his connections to high-profile individuals on both sides of the political spectrum. Congress ultimately passed legislation mandating that the Department of Justice release these files by 19 December, with Trump signing this bill into law.
But that deadline came and went, with Trump’s justice department making a mere fraction of the total disclosures required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA). These scant releases have so far failed to lift the veil on how Epstein operated with impunity for years.
