The Department of Justice (DOJ) began releasing thousands of documents pertaining to deceased convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein on Friday, according to several reports.
The release of the new documents pertaining to Epstein comes as the DOJ was faced with a “deadline for the release of all remaining Epstein files” after the House of Representatives and Senate passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November, according to ABC News:
The DOJ faced a Friday deadline for the release of all remaining Epstein files after Congress last month passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act following the blowback the administration received seeking the release of the materials.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, in an interview Friday morning on Fox and Friends, said, “I expect that we’re going to release several hundred thousand documents today … and then over the next couple of weeks I expect several hundred thousand more.”
Axios reported that some of the documents being released are “expected to be redacted” in an effort to “protect Epstein’s survivors and other private information.”
The Trump administration was also reportedly “allowed to redact the files to protect ongoing investigations” into people such as former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and their “connections to Epstein,” according to the outlet.
Breitbart News Deputy Political Editor Bradley Jaye reported in November that the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act by the House came after Democrats remained “mostly silent” regarding Epstein and the files relating to him under the Biden administration:
Passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, although unlikely to result in any additional criminals being brought to justice, is a political victory for Democrats, who found religion this year on Epstein after four years of remaining mostly silent on the matter during Joe Biden’s presidency.
While President Donald Trump encouraged House Republicans to vote to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, he has also advocated for moving “on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party.”