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Watch: "It's finally happening" - Trump supporters on the potential release of the Epstein files
The US justice department will begin releasing long-awaited files related to Jeffrey Epstein as mandated by a new law, though not all documents would be made public on Friday, a top official says.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department expects to publish "several hundred thousand pages" initially, followed by more over the coming weeks.
The Friday deadline was mandated by a bill that got near-unanimous support in Congress, and was later signed into law by US President Donald Trump after he reversed his earlier opposition to the release.
Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer has said not releasing all the files before the deadline amounts to breaking the law.
The files relate to investigations into the disgraced late sex offender, but it is likely that much of the content will be heavily redacted.
"We are looking at every single piece of paper that we are going to produce making sure every victim - their name, their identity, their story, to the extent that it needs to be protected - is completely protected," Blanche told Fox & Friends.
He said that the justice department will release more material in the coming weeks.
"So, today, several hundred thousand, and then over the next couple of weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more," Blanche said.
"There's a lot of eyes looking at these, so we want to make sure that when we do produce the materials that we're producing, we're protecting every single victim."
Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the DOJ was given until 19 December to release the files.
The bill specifically mentions that the government must release all unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials in the DOJ's possession that relate to the investigation and prosecution of Epstein.
Democratic leaders say any delay by the DOJ is illegal.
"The Trump administration had 30 days to release ALL the Epstein files, not just some. Failing to do so is breaking the law," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
He said Democratic senators were currently working with lawyers for Epstein's victims as well as outside counsel to determine what was being released and what was being "covered up" by the DOJ.
Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who joined hands with Democrat Ro Khanna to force a vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, posted an image of the law on X and highlighted the language that stipulated that "all" of the files had to be released within 30 days.
Khanna called for a full timeline for the release of documents before the deadline.
Democrats in the House of Representatives have been publishing batches of documents and photos from Epstein's estate without context.
Lawmakers say they have been sorting through a trove of 20,000 documents and 95,000 photos from the estate.
Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia said in a press release that most of the documents arrived without context, and they have been working to redact potential victims.
The documents and images have featured several high-profile figures, including Trump, former US President Bill Clinton, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Appearing in the photos or documents is not evidence of any wrongdoing, and many of the pictured men have said they were never involved in Epstein's illegal activity.
