Justice Department releases files tied to Jeffrey Epstein case

Rep. Mike Lawler in October.

GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York downplayed concerns over the Justice Department not yet releasing all of its records related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, despite the law stipulating the materials should be released in full today.

“I think given the volume of documents, you know — I assume they have a lot of people working on redacting, where appropriate within the law, and going through each of these documents to make sure that they are released appropriately,” Lawler told CNN.

Earlier today, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said more documents are still to come in the weeks ahead. He said in a letter to Congress today that “final stages of review of some material continue,” and that he anticipates that will be finished “over the next two weeks.”

The law also stipulate the documents be searchable, but the DOJ website did not appear to immediately have that function.

Lawler said the DOJ should “comply fully with the law,” but given the vast number of records and the 30-day timeline from when the law was signed, “I’m not sure how realistic that really was.”

“I think they need to obviously comply expeditiously, and I do believe that’s their intent,” the lawmaker said.

The Justice Department released hundreds of thousands of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein today, some of them containing details of sexual abuse that can be distressing.

Here are some resources that can help:

• National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673

This hotline is provided by RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) and is available 24/7. It is also available through online chat tool.

• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741

This text line is also available 24/7 for victims of abuse and any other type of crisis.

• For help or resources for trafficking: Call 1-888-373-7888 or text “help” to BeFree, 233733.

This call center is operated by the nonprofit Polaris and provides immediate support and local and national resources, 24 hours a day. You can submit anonymous tips online here.

A page of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein, released on Friday, December 19, which has been fully redacted.

As CNN reporters review the released records from the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, we are seeing information — in some case, entire pages — redacted by the Justice Department.

What the DOJ said on its website about redactions: While officials made “reasonable efforts” to redact “personal information pertaining to victims, other private individuals, and protect sensitive materials from disclosure,” they acknowledged that given the volume of documents and Friday’s deadline, there could still be “information that inadvertently includes non-public personally identifiable information or other sensitive content, to include matters of a sexual nature.”

The DOJ asked readers to reach out if they spot anything that needs redaction.

How the DOJ said it approached redactions: “Redactions of victim names and other identifying information have been applied. In audio files, redactions of victim names and other identifying information have been implemented through the use of a steady, solid tone.”

As a reminder, here are some hurdles that the DOJ faced while racing to redact some information before release, according to sources:

Read more about the race to redact here.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the Justice Department over today’s release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, calling it “just a fraction of the whole body of evidence.”

Even though the law required DOJ to produce all of its materials by December 19, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a letter to Congress that the department has been receiving new information as recently as this week and suggested that the ongoing review process would be completed “over the next two weeks.”

“Senate Democrats are working to assess the documents that have been released to determine what actions must be taken to hold the Trump administration accountable. We will pursue every option to make sure the truth comes out,” Schumer said.

The Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in Washington, DC, on Friday.

Justice Department attorneys were instructed to report to Congress any “government officials and politically exposed persons named or referenced” in the Jeffrey Epstein documents that were released, according to a copy of its review protocol shared with CNN.

The protocol document included multiple steps that DOJ attorneys referenced throughout their review process to ensure that the department was complying with the law passed by Congress.

It accompanied a letter that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche sent to Congress outlining the review and redaction process that DOJ undertook before distributing the materials.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche sent Congress a letter about Friday’s Epstein files release.

The deputy attorney general said more releases are expected in the coming weeks.

Read the full letter below.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche sent a letter to Congress explaining the department’s protocol for reviewing and redacting the Jeffrey Epstein files ahead of Friday’s release, including redacting the names of more than 1,200 victim names and their relatives.

To comply with the law, several redactions had to be made, according to the department. Information redacted, Blanche said, included any material that contained personally identifiable information of victims, child sexual abuse materials, classified national defense or foreign policy information, or would jeopardize an active investigation.

“This process resulted in over 1,200 names being identified as victims or their relatives. The Department has redacted reference to such names,” Blanche wrote.

Even though the law required DOJ to produce all of its materials by December 19, Blanche said the department has been receiving new information as recently as this week and suggested that the ongoing review process would be completed “over the next two weeks.”

“Today, the Department is producing hundreds of thousands of pages of documents responsive to the Act. This disclosure highlights President Trump’s, Attorney General Bondi’s, and Director Patel’s absolute commitment to transparency consistent with the law,” he wrote.

Blanche added that DOJ was also withholding and redacting “a limited amount of information otherwise covered by various privileges, including deliberative-process privilege, work-product privilege, and attorney-client privilege.”

Blanche argued that the law passed by Congress does not require DOJ to produce privileged materials but added that “a privilege log will be produced in due course as required under the Act.”

Blanche said that the review team at DOJ consisted of more than 200 Department attorneys.

In Friday’s production specifically, Blanche told Congress that the items released included:

“Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, this unprecedented disclosure highlights our commitment to following the law, being transparent, and protecting victims,” Blanche wrote.

Rep. Ro Khanna on November 18, following a news conference about the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, who co-authored the legislation that mandated the Justice Department release the Jeffrey Epstein files, told reporters that he was “disappointed” with the materials produced on Friday and that he will be exploring “all options” about what to do next.

Khanna said he would work with GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, who worked with him to push for the files’ release, to explore next steps. Khanna went as far as to say that pursuing impeachment could be on the table if DOJ does not ultimately fully comply.

“Thomas Massie and I will continue to explore all options to fight to make sure that they comply with the law, whether that is holding people in inherent contempt, recommending people for prosecution, recommending impeachment, or private lawsuits,” Khanna said.

The Justice Department’s massive trove of “Epstein files” includes thousands of apparently never-before-released documents along with thousands of files that were already public from various court cases and public records requests.

A new page on the Justice Department’s website, called the “Epstein Library,” spells out the four broad categories of documents disseminated on Friday.

Some of the files are new. Other files are clearly old. But for the first time, a sizable chunk of the massive universe of Epstein-related materials were all put together in one place.

Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein, in this undated photo released by the Justice Department on Friday, December 19.

Of the thousands of documents released as part of the Epstein files, several are never-before-released photographs of former President Bill Clinton with convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

One image shows a shirtless Clinton in a jacuzzi next to another person whose face is redacted. There are additional photos of Clinton swimming in an adjacent pool with Maxwell. These pictures show another woman swimming with Clinton and Maxwell, but her face is redacted.

Another one of the new images shows Clinton holding a drink and standing next to Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while in prison awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

It’s unclear where or when these photographs were taken. CNN has reached out to a spokesperson for Clinton regarding the new images.

Bill Clinton, Ghislaine Maxwell and an unidentified person whose face has been redacted in this undated photo.

Clinton has never been accused by law enforcement of any wrongdoing related to Epstein, and a spokesperson has repeatedly said he cut ties with Epstein before his arrest on federal charges in 2019 and didn’t know about his crimes.

“President Clinton knows nothing about the terrible crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York,” Clinton’s spokesman, Angel Ureña, said in a 2019 statement posted to Twitter.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which mandated Friday’s disclosures, required the Justice Department to redact personally identifying information about Epstein’s victims. It’s unclear if the people near Clinton in these new images are victims of Epstein’s abuse.

The White House on Friday.

The White House is framing the Justice Department’s release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein as evidence of the administration’s transparency, while criticizing Democrats.

“The Trump Administration is the most transparent in history. 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,” spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.

“And while President Trump is delivering on his promises, Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries and Stacey Plaskett have yet to explain why they were soliciting money and meetings from Epstein after he was a convicted sex offender. The American people deserve answers,” Jackson added.

Plaskett exchanged texts with Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing. A Democratic consulting group asked Epstein if he wanted to participate in a fundraising dinner with Jeffries in March 2013; Jeffries has said he has no recollection of the message.

Trump, who’s been dogged by his administration’s handling of the files, ultimately backed the release of the files last month after members of his own party helped force a vote in the House to compel their release.

The Epstein Library on the US Department of Justice website, pictured on Friday, December 19.

The website that the Department of Justice used to publish the files related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation today was not immediately searchable — despite a search function being required in the law that mandated the documents’ release.

The Justice Department published thousands of files split between four data sets. The website includes a search bar but words inputted into it yield no results — including for basic queries like “Epstein” or “Maxwell.” A disclaimer on the site notes that “portions” of the documents may not be searchable “Due to technical limitations and the format of certain materials.”

The bipartisan bill that President Donald Trump signed last month, which mandated the release of the Epstein files, also required the database to be available in a searchable format.

An unsealed indictment of Jeffrey Epstein is seen in this handout page released by the US Justice Department, then printed and arranged for a photograph by Reuters in Washington, DC, on Friday, December 19.

Sorting through the documents released by the Justice Department related to its investigations into Jeffrey Epstein is going to be a long process, CNN crime and justice correspondent Katelyn Polantz said this afternoon.

CNN teams are reading through the files right now and we will bring you key findings when we have them, but this effort is going to take some time.

This is for two main reasons, Polantz said.

First, the sheer volume of materials. The DOJ posted large data sets including documents, photos and audio on its website this afternoon.

Second, it’s important to understand the context, “to figure out not just what it is, but why it is there,” she said.

Many of those things are not labeled, Polantz said. “Some of these images have clearly very sensitive information in them. People’s heads are blacked out in a lot of them, especially women,” she said.

The newly released materials from the Justice Department could provide an “unprecedented look” at the behind-the-scenes workings of the agency’s investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said this afternoon.

Honig, a former assistant US attorney, said these are some of the documents that are typically part of DOJ investigations and could be part of the released records:

The Justice Department released large data sets, which CNN reporters are working on reading right now.

“This law is really quite broad in what it requires DOJ to turn over, so we should get an unprecedented look behind the door at DOJ,” Honig said.

Rep. Thomas Massie speaks during a news conference with Epstein abuse survivors and other lawmakers outside the Capitol on November 18.

The congressional push forcing the Department of Justice to publicly release all of its investigative files into Jeffrey Epstein was the result of months of nasty infighting and a pressure campaign within the GOP.

GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a known party agitator, paired with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna to craft a bill that would compel DOJ to release all of its Epstein files. For months, Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership tried to quash the effort, and President Donald Trump repeatedly called the issue a “Democratic hoax.”

Massie was joined by three GOP women who delivered the votes necessary to circumvent House GOP leadership and bring the bill to the floor. The pressure campaign against the GOP lawmakers to take their names off of the effort was persistent and widespread.

Trump called GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene a “traitor” for supporting the release of the Epstein files and called for her to be ousted in a primary race, which ultimately led to their public breakup and Greene’s decision to retire early from Congress. GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert met with top Trump administration officials about the push to release all of the DOJ files just days before its final passage.

When the lawmakers didn’t cave and the effort couldn’t be stopped, Trump, Johnson and the majority of Republicans got on board to overwhelmingly pass the bill that has led to the release of the Epstein files today.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks during a news conference at the US Capitol on December 11.

As we begin to the review the Justice Department documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, we’ll be watching for Democratic reaction to the Trump administration’s handling of today’s release.

Earlier, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer released a statement slamming Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche for saying the department will release some of the files at a later date, despite today’s deadline.

Blanche said in an interview on Fox this morning that “several hundred thousand” documents in their possession will be released today, with more to come in the weeks ahead.

President Donald Trump signed into law legislation passed by Congress in November that mandates the release of all non-exempt information from the files by December 19.

“Senate Democrats are working closely with attorneys for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and with outside legal experts to assess what documents are being withheld and what is being covered up by Pam Bondi. We will not stop until the whole truth comes out,” he continued.

The Justice Department has just released records from its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

Some of the material was already made public, but other documents are “very likely to have never seen the light of day before,” CNN crime and justice correspondent Katelyn Polantz said.

Polantz scrolled through the DOJ website where the files were uploaded:

The released materials included multiple pages and large data sets of information, she said.

CNN reporters are working on reading through the records right now. We’ll bring you key findings as we have them.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche attends a news conference at the Justice Department on November 19.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the Justice Department will “release several hundred thousand documents today” related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

A DOJ website hosting the documents has begun to make material available, and CNN is reviewing them now.

Blanche said earlier that the department will continue to release files in the coming weeks.

The deputy attorney general said the department has been focused on protecting victims.

“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,” Blanche said.

Blanche went on to give credit to President Donald Trump, who resisted mounting pressure for months to release the documents before ultimately signing a bipartisan bill that gave the administration 30 days to do so.

“President Trump signed that law 30 days ago, and we have been working tirelessly since that day to make sure that, that we get every single document that we have within the Department of Justice, review it and get it to the American public,” he added.

This image shared by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee shows the birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein bearing Donald Trump's name. Trump has repeatedly denied writing the letter.

In September, the House Oversight Committee put out a tranche of records, including a collection of letters that included a note bearing President Donald Trump’s name that was part of a collection of letters gifted to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday.

The committee had previously released Epstein files turned over to the panel by the Justice Department. Democrats on the committee criticized the release, however, saying that it contained little new information.

Here’s what else was in the documents released in September:

The Justice Department just released some of the documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

While our reporters go through them, here’s a look at the law that got us here: