Justice Department Releases Epstein Files—With Broken Search Tool
The Department of Justice finally released its first trove of files on Jeffrey Epstein Friday afternoon—with a broken search tool.
The files have been divided into court records, DOJ disclosures, Freedom of Information Act, and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Disclosures. There is also a search bar that includes a disclaimer: “Due to technical limitations and the format of certain materials (e.g., handwritten text), portions of these documents may not be electronically searchable or may produce unreliable search results.”
The government was legally required to release all the files Friday, but took their time, and ultimately only released a partial batch. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche pledged to release more files in the coming weeks in an interview on Fox News Friday morning.
Many of the released files are redacted nearly in full.
In a statement after the files’ release, the White House absurdly claimed, “The Trump Administration is the most transparent in history.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson continued:
By releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, and President Trump recently calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, the Trump Administration has done more for the victims than Democrats ever have. And while President Trump is delivering on his promises, Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries and Stacey Paskett have yet to explain why they were soliciting money and meeting from Epstein after he was a convicted sex offender. The American people deserve answers.
That statement ignores the fact that Republicans in Congress, led by House Speaker MIke Johnson, delayed and stalled on releasing the files for months. Johnson used a government shutdown to delay the swearing-in of Democratic Representative Adelita Grijalva, who was the decisive vote in a discharge petition to force the files’ release. Every Democrat signed the petition, but only four Republicans did: Representatives Thomas Massie, Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Nancy Mace.
Trump still refuses to acknowledge his close relationship with Epstein, and flip-flopped on the files only after he realized popular (and Republican) opinion was strongly in favor of the government making them public. Friday’s release is the first peek into what the Trump administration is willing to tell the public about what the government knows about Epstein, and a lot of it was information people already knew. Legally, though, they should be releasing everything that doesn’t endanger victims.
This story has been updated.