On November 19, Donald Trump set a 30-day deadline for the US Justice Department to release all documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. As of today, December 19, the question remains whether the Justice Department will comply with this deadline.
Upon signing the bill, Trump suggested that the release could uncover ‘the truth about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein’.
“I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES,” he announced on Truth Social, stating: “This latest Hoax will backfire on the Democrats just as all of the rest have!”
Over the past 30 days, the House Oversight Committee has applied continued pressure on the Justice Department by sharing photos from Epstein’s estate, including some featuring Trump.
The latest batch of photos, released on December 18, included well-known individuals such as Bill Gates, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, and illusionist David Blaine.
The presence of these figures in the photos does not suggest any misconduct.
Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the Justice Department’s intent to meet the deadline, stating: “We will continue to follow the law and encourage maximum transparency.”
With the deadline now here, Bondi has until 11:59pm to release the Justice Department records. The law mandates that the documents must be available in a ‘searchable and downloadable format’, although the exact presentation of the files remains uncertain.
Rep. Ro Khanna, a co-sponsor of the legislation requiring the document release, informed NBC News that failure to release the information by the deadline would constitute a legal violation.
Khanna acknowledged that the department might not face immediate consequences under the current administration, but noted ‘they could be subject to prosecution given the federal law, and the statute of limitations will likely run into a new administration’.
On December 18, Khanna cautioned Bondi that he would pursue impeachment proceedings if she failed to comply, stating: “Here is the reality: any justice department official who does not comply with this law will be subject to prosecution for obstruction of justice.
“If Pam Bondi does not comply with the law she will be held either in inherent contempt of congress or subject to impeachment. We will not rest until the law is complied with and justice is served.”
The FBI and the Justice Department have indicated that the Epstein files contain over 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence, suggesting a significant release of information is expected.
Nevertheless, authorities have the discretion to withhold records that could identify victims, such as images of child sexual abuse, or documents classified for national security purposes.
Additionally, the Justice Department may withhold records that could potentially compromise an ongoing federal investigation.