Trump Admin Reacts After DOJ Releases Epstein Files

President Donald Trump’s White House responded after his Department of Justice (DOJ) released many of its files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

“By releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, and President Trump recently calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, the Trump Administration has done more for the victims than Democrats ever have,” White House spokeswoman, Abigail Jackson said, the Associated Press reported.

Why It Matters

The release comes after bipartisan legislation passed the U.S. House and Senate overwhelmingly a month ago requiring the disclosure. That effort succeeded after the Trump administration for months had fought the release, with the president routinely calling it a “hoax.”

The administration’s opposition came after Trump, who was friends with Epstein decades ago before having a falling out, had promised during his 2024 campaign that the files would be released. While Trump has long been known to be mentioned in the files, he and his allies have consistently said he was not involved in Epstein’s criminality, and no evidence had emerged to show that he was.

What to Know

The DOJ released hundreds of thousands of records tied to Epstein on Friday, marking one of the most significant public disclosures in the case. The release came as a result of the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the government to make the documents available by December 19.

The bipartisan legislation passed after Representatives Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, spearheaded the effort and utilized a discharge petition to force a vote, despite the objections of House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican. Despite the opposition of Trump and Republican leaders, the legislation ultimately passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the House and Senate last month.

Epstein and Trump were known to be close decades ago. However, they ultimately had a falling out, which was reportedly tied to a real estate deal. The president has said he also got upset because Epstein “stole” a young woman working at his Mar-a-Lago club.

The deceased financier, who was a convicted child sex offender, was well-connected, and was closely associated with many high-profile individuals, including former President Bill Clinton, former Prince Andrew, economist Lawrence Summer, Bill Gates, Trump ally Steve Bannon and many others. Ahead of the DOJ release, House Democrats and Republicans have release some files tied to Epstein, including photos of many of these individuals with him.

A new Quinnipiac University survey released this week found widespread dissatisfaction with Trump’s handling of the Epstein files. Just 26 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with his performance on the issue, underscoring public frustration over the administration’s approach to the disclosures.

What Was Already Released From Epstein Files

Over the past year, tens of thousands of pages of Epstein-related documents had already been made public, mainly through the House Oversight Committee’s subpoenas to the DOJ and Epstein’s estate. The releases have offered glimpses into Epstein’s network and activities, though many materials have been heavily redacted.

Recent disclosures include:

December 18, 2025: Democrats released 68 photos from a trove of 95,000 obtained from Epstein’s estate.
December 12, 2025: A batch of photos featuring figures such as Trump, former President Clinton, Summers, Woody Allen, and Bannon. None are implicated in Epstein’s crimes.
December 4, 2025: Seventy-three photos and four videos of Epstein’s private island, Little St. James, where he allegedly abused underage girls.
November 12, 2025: Twenty thousand estate records, including emails referencing Trump and exchanges with Summers and Gates.
September 8, 2025: Material including a 2003 birthday note to Epstein that appeared signed by Trump, which he has denied.
September 2, 2025: More than 33,000 Justice Department files, including flight logs and cell block video footage.
August 22, 2025: Transcript and audio of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s interview with Maxwell.
February 27, 2025: White House binders labeled “Epstein Files: Phase 1,” which contained little new information.

What People Are Saying

Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, in a Thursday social media video ahead of the release: “If we get a large production on Dec. 19 and it does not contain a single name of any male who is accused of a sex crime or sex trafficking or rape or any of these things, then we know they haven’t produced all the documents. It’s that simple.”

Trump’s White House chief of staff Susie Wiles in an interview with Vanity Fair prior to release: Trump “is in the file” but that “he’s not in the file doing anything awful.”

Representative Ro Khanna, a California, said in a Friday press call after the release: “Thomas Massie and I will continue to explore all options to fight to make sure that they comply with the law, whether that is holding people in inherent contempt, recommending people for prosecution, recommending impeachment, or private lawsuits. I was encouraged initially when Todd Blanche said that we were gonna have hundreds of thousands of documents released. So far, I have not seen much new.”

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to Fox News before release: “I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks, so today several hundred thousand and then over the next couple weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more. There’s a lot of eyes looking at these and we want to make sure that when we do produce the materials we are producing, that we are protecting every single victim.”