DOJ concludes Epstein files review with release of 3.5 million records
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The Justice Department said Friday it was releasing the final tranche of Epstein files after a lengthy review, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters at a news conference.
Why it matters: With the release, Blanche said the DOJ's obligations under the Epstein Files Transparency Act will be completed — more than a month after the congressionally mandated deadline for the department to vet and release materials related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
- In total, DOJ will release more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images on Friday. Its team sorted through more than 6 million records, Blanche said.
- The records went through "multiple layers of review and quality control," Blanche said.
Zoom in: Members of Congress can request to review un-redacted portions of the files, Blanche said.
- All women were redacted from photos and videos, Blanche said. Men were not redacted unless it was necessary in order to protect the privacy of women in the images or footage.
Driving the news: Blanche did not go into details on the contents of the release.
- One of the documents released Friday revealed that Howard Lutnick, President Trump's commerce secretary, planned a trip to Epstein's island in 2012.
- "This is nothing more than a failing attempt by the legacy media to distract from the administration's accomplishments," a Commerce Department spokesperson told Axios.
- "Secretary Lutnick had limited interactions with Mr. Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing."
Zoom out: Blanche said the White House had no oversight of the review.
- Asked if all files related to President Trump were being released, Blanche said: "Yes, I can assure that we complied with the statute, we complied with the act. We did not protect President Trump. We did not protect or not protect anybody."
- "I think that there's a hunger or thirst for information that I do not think will be satisfied by the review of these documents."
- The White House did not comment.
State of play: Blanche said the videos and photos include "large quantities" of commercial pornography seized from Epstein's devices that were not taken by him or anyone in his orbit.
- The Epstein Library includes an age verification question, asking users if they're at least 18 years old.
Flashback: Files released in December revealed federal prosecutors learned in 2020 that Trump flew on Epstein's private jet more often in the 1990s than they previously knew.
- Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Go deeper: More Epstein files coming soon, DOJ says, a month past deadline
Editor's note: This story has been updated with new details throughout.
