DOJ Misses Deadline For Full Epstein Files Release, Will Instead Stagger ‘To Protect Victims’

The Department of Justice will miss today’s deadline to release the ‘full’ Epstein files to Congress as required under new legislation Trump signed into law last month. 

Instead, the Justice Department will release “several hundred thousand” documents today, “and then over the next couple weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News, citing the need to redact any names or identifying information about witnesses.

“So today is the 30 days when I expect that we’re going to release several hundred thousand documents today. And those documents will come in in all different forms, photographs and other materials associated with, with all of the investigations into, into Mr. Epstein,” Blanche said.

“What we’re doing is we are looking at every single piece of paper that we are going to produce, making sure that every victim, their name, their identity, their story, to the extent it needs to be protected, is completely protected. And so I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks. So today, several hundred thousand and then over the next couple weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more.”

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche: “Today is the 30 days and I expect we’re going to release several hundred thousand [Epstein]documents today, and those documents will come in all different forms — photographs and other materials… just so everybody appreciates —… pic.twitter.com/JM22FXELTx

— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) December 19, 2025

Rep Thomas Massie, who was part of a bipartisan duo that pushed to force a vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, reminded everyone that today’s the day for all records to be released.

pic.twitter.com/GjZIlCAUyJ

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) December 19, 2025

On Thursday Massie made a video about today’s deadline, making it clear that there is no ambiguity within the law. 

“This is a very unique situation. … This is a case where the president who appointed the attorney general and for whom the attorney general works has signed the law and the ink is not even dry yet on his signature on this law,” Massie said, adding “There’s nothing subject to interpretation.”

Our Epstein Files Transparency Act is now law. It establishes a December 19 deadline for the Attorney General to release the Epstein files.

In this video, I’ll tell you what to expect in advance of tomorrow’s statutory disclosure deadline. pic.twitter.com/7aD7q1kyLC

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) December 18, 2025

Meanwhile, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee continue to release new batches of Epstein photos.

#EpsteinFiles pic.twitter.com/N6sCs5nLta

— swanaamdhanya (@swanaamdhaanya) December 19, 2025

“Oversight Democrats will continue to release photographs and documents from the Epstein estate to provide transparency for the American people,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said in a statement. “ As we approach the deadline for the Epstein Files Transparency Act, these new images raise more questions about what exactly the Department of Justice has in its possession. We must end this White House cover-up, and the DOJ must release the Epstein files now.”

The photos show several images where women’s body parts have quotes from the book “Lolita” written on them. 

“She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock,” one quote reads. 

As ABC News notes further:

There are several images of passports and ID cards for women from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Italy, the Czech Republic and Lithuania. All identifying information has been redacted from the photos. After Epstein’s 2006 arrest and jail sentence in Florida for solicitation of a minor, he was alleged to have turned his focus to recruiting young women from Eastern European countries.

A screenshot released Thursday of a text message chat — whose participants are not revealed — seems to involve a discussion about recruiting an 18-year-old woman to meet Epstein.

“I will send u girls now,” the message says.  “Maybe someone will be good for J?”

Interestingly, in the world’s most buried lede – the NY Times admits that there’s no evidence that Donald Trump participated in Epstein’s sex trafficking. 

Kind of “burying the lede” here pic.twitter.com/jhgR1nmtPo

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) December 18, 2025