A “very small” collection of documents relating to the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files is set to be released after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published more than 3 million new pages relating to the late financier and convicted pedophile.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Friday that the U.S. government had sought an order from the Southern District of New York to release documents collected by a law firm in 2019 during the investigation into Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The Context
Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a letter to two district judges on Saturday that Judge Analisa Torres had authorized the DOJ to publicly disclose transcripts and exhibits from grand jury proceedings in the case of the U.S. vs. Tova Noel and Michael Thomas.
U.S. prosecutors dismissed charges against Noel and Thomas, both prison guards, who admitted to falsifying records to show they had properly monitored Epstein.
He died in a New York jail in August 2019. A DOJ and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) memo published in July 2025 reiterated Epstein had died by suicide at the now-closed Metropolitan Correctional Center.
What To Know
“The department will promptly release appropriately redacted versions of such materials,” Clayton wrote. Blanche told reporters on Friday the materials would be published “immediately.”
Clayton said the DOJ had also applied to release other materials sealed during a civil proceeding and was waiting for legal guidance.
The order authorized by Torres, dated Friday, ruled the grand jury materials from the case, “which pertain to records and documentation concerning Epstein’s detention and eventual death, plainly fall under the act’s broad mandate.”
This refers to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump in November last year. The act obligates the DOJ to publish “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” held by the DOJ relating to Epstein, Maxwell, as well as several other criteria, like internal departmental memos discussing Epstein and his associates.
The DOJ missed its December 19 deadline to publicize the documents, but on Friday released more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 new images relating to Epstein.
Close to 3.5 million pages are now in the public domain under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the DOJ said. Blanche said more than 6 million pages were initially identified as potentially falling under the act.
“Today’s production marks the department’s compliance with its production obligations under the act,” Blanche’s office said.
The disclosures have been chaotic, reams of material dumped online often without context or further explanation. Some files were taken down by the DOJ after they were initially uploaded.
Maxwell is the only woman in the files whose identity is not redacted, Blanche said. The deputy attorney general said the newly publicized files had undergone extensive “quality control” designed to toe the line between adhering to the Epstein Files Transparency Act and protecting victims.
But “mistakes are inevitable,” Blanche said. “We, of course, want to immediately correct any redaction errors that our team may have made.” The DOJ has urged anyone impacted by what they believe to be inappropriately published material to contact the government on the email address: EFTA@usdoj.gov.
Many Epstein survivors have campaigned for the release of the files, but 20 survivors said in a joint statement that Friday’s document dump displayed identifying information and names of victims.
What People Are Saying
“We have very little faith in the DOJ at this point,” said Danielle Bensky, an Epstein survivor.
The videos and photos released on Friday were not exclusively taken by Epstein or anyone around him, but did feature material from his electronic devices and pornography, Blanche said.
Files that show information that could identify victims, medical and personal records or files that would invade personal privacy were not included, Blanche said. Child sexual abuse material, and images showing physical abuse and death were not made public, along with information that could jeopardize an ongoing investigation, he added.
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