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The release of nearly 3 million Jeffrey Epstein investigation files has failed to quell anger over how Justice Department officials have handled the revelations, with lawyers claiming potentially millions of documents are still being kept secret.
Donald Trump's Justice Department was required to disclose all investigative files by December 19 under the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA). While the Justice Department released some documents on that date, last week's disclosure came nearly 6 weeks after that deadline.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who served as Trump's criminal defense attorney, told reporters last week that the disclosure marked "the end of a very comprehensive process of identifying and reviewing documents to ensure transparency for the American people and compliance with the act."
“Upon submission of the final report to Congress, as required under the act, and publication of written justifications for the redactions in the Federal Register, the Department’s obligations under the act will end,” Blanche said.
He also said that, while the Justice Department had found “more than 6 million pages that were identified as potentially responsible,” this was because “we erred in collecting more material from different sources to best ensure maximum transparency.”
"The number of pages responding to requests is significantly smaller than the total number of pages initially collected," Blanche said, adding "that's why I mentioned a little earlier that we are publishing more than 3 million pages today and not the 6 million pages we collected."
The missed deadline and up to 3 million files that remain undisclosed have sparked criticism and calls for further disclosure to answer how Epstein sexually abused girls with impunity for decades and how he reached a plea deal nearly 20 years ago that allowed him to avoid federal prosecution.
"The government continues to evade responsibility and has argued that it is not responsible for Epstein's abuse of hundreds of victims," said Jennifer Plotkin of Merson Law, who represents more than 30 victims.
"The release of the files proves that the government has repeatedly let down the victims."
Dr. Ann Olivarius, a women's rights lawyer and founder of the law firm McAllister Olivarius, said the revelations have not lifted the veil on Epstein's continued evasion of justice until his 2019 prosecution.
"We have a lot of files on Epstein's depravity. What we're missing are the files on his immunity," she said.
Olivarius also noted the dramatic difference between the number of documents that were identified as possibly important versus the number that were published.
"The DoJ initially identified over 6 million pages of interest, however we have only seen about half of them. They claim the rest are duplicates or do not respond to requests," Olivarius said.
News website Radar Online, which filed a lawsuit more than eight years ago after the FBI failed to disclose Epstein's files under an April 2017 Freedom of Information (FOIA) request, also said last week's disclosure was insufficient.
"In addition to the many questionable redactions that the public has identified, the Justice Department has acknowledged that millions of Epstein records were kept completely secret," a spokesperson told Radar.
“We have asked the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to remand our FOIA case back to District Court so that we can directly challenge any efforts to undermine transparency.”
Meanwhile, leading Democrats have sharply criticized the handling of these files, while Blanche doubled down on the Justice Department's work, telling ABC News on Sunday: "This review is over."
"We are witnessing a complete cover-up of events," said Congressman Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, on CNN's "State of the Union."
"They said there were 6 million documents out there that could be suitable for use. They've only published 3 million with more than 10,000 edits."
"What about the other 3 million files?" said Raskin, who is the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. "We're just releasing small, meaningless information, the things they want us to see."
The Guardian contacted the Justice Department for comment on the criticism. A Justice Department official said in an email: “Just because you want something to be true doesn’t mean it is. This Department produced more than 3.5 million pages in compliance with the law and has disclosed to the public and Congress which articles were not appropriate, in accordance with the Act.”
The official also said: “I assume that all members of Congress read the text before voting on it, but if not, our press release and letter to Congress clearly state that.”
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