Epstein Case Files Are Due by Midnight

The clock is ticking on the release of the Epstein files. By midnight Friday, the Trump administration is required by law to publish a trove of Jeffrey Epstein-related records that could expose new details about the sex offender's crimes and his links to prominent figures, including President Trump, the Guardian reports. The release is mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed by Congress in November after House Republicans forced a vote over the objections of GOP leaders and the White House. The Justice Department hasn't said what time it plans to make the files public, the AP reports.

The law orders Attorney General Pam Bondi to post "all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials" tied to Epstein, his imprisoned associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and anyone named in connection with his crimes, in searchable and downloadable form. The measure sailed through the House 427–1 and cleared the Senate by unanimous consent, prompting Trump to drop his earlier resistance and sign it. The forthcoming disclosure follows months of agitation from Trump's own base, some of whom accused him of shielding allies by keeping the files under wraps.

• Trump, once friendly with Epstein before a falling-out he has described in shifting terms, promised to release the records while campaigning but reversed course in office. As criticism mounted, he labeled the uproar a "Democrat hoax" and scolded supporters for fixating on the case, while Bondi drew fire for declining to make the documents public after suggesting an Epstein "client list" was on her desk.
• Skeptics suspect politically sensitive material could still be withheld. The Justice Department can redact information that identifies victims, contains child sexual abuse imagery, involves classified material, or risks compromising ongoing investigations. Trump recently ordered a criminal probe into Epstein's connections to prominent Democrats, including Bill Clinton. The law's sponsors, however, note it also compels Bondi to publish an unclassified summary justifying every redaction.
• Sources told CNN this week that frustration was building in the Justice Department as lawyers who had been asked to drop all other work raced to process the files. The sources said directions on how to make information available were unclear and there will be extensive redactions in whatever is released Friday. "Either they're going to screw it up or they're going to withhold things. It wouldn't surprise me," one lawyer said. "Some of it may be incompetence as much as deliberate."