Democrats accuse Justice Department of latest attempt to skirt law on Epstein files release

Washington DC - The Democrats are accusing the Department of Justice as well as Attorney General Pam Bondi of still withholding a vast of documents related to infamous sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein in defiance of the law.

Democrats accused the Department of Justice and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche of withholding half of all available Epstein files.  © Collage: REUTERS & IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

In a letter to Congress, the DOJ suggested that the more than three million files released Friday would be the last related to Epstein to be published.

"Today's release marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people and compliance with the act," Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said.

The latest release was heavy on references to not just President Donald Trump, but also billionaires Elon Musk and Bill Gates.

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Yet Democrats quickly pointed out that the DOJ itself had acknowledged there were more than six million files related to Epstein, and that the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) required a full release.

"Donald Trump and his Department of Justice have now made it clear that they intend to withhold roughly 50% of the Epstein files, while claiming to have fully complied with the law," California Rep. Robert Garcia said. "This is outrageous and incredibly concerning."

The ongoing issue of heavy redactions also came up.

"Congress cannot properly assess the department's handling of the Epstein and Maxwell cases without access to the complete record," wrote California Democrat Ro Khanna and Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie in a formal letter to Blanche.

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"The DOJ said it identified over six million potentially responsive pages but is releasing only about 3.5 million after review and redactions," Khanna told Newsweek in a statement. "This raises questions as to why the rest are being withheld."

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