The Justice Department on Friday resumed releasing more of the long-awaited investigative files relating to the late sex offenderJeffrey Epstein.
The new document dump was massive and included more than 3.5 million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said during a press conference.
The release includes "large quantities of commercial pornography and images that were seized from Epstein's devices," some of which were taken by Epstein, Blanche said.
Blanche also pushed back on the idea that the DOJ has a secret list of names of men associated with Epstein who abused women. He also insisted the DOJ was not trying to shield President Donald Trump, who had once been close friends with Epstein.
"We did not protect President Trump," Blanche said. "We didn't protect or not protect anybody."
In addition to being enormous in quantity, the new Epstein material released Friday was late.
The DOJ missed a December deadline to turn over all the unclassified documents, with certain exceptions, required by theEpstein Files Transparency Act, whichwas signed into law Nov. 19 by Trump and gave Attorney General Pam Bondi 30 days to release all of the department's Epstein files.
That law also requires the agency to explain any redactions to Congress.
Earlier in December, the DOJ posted some 3,500 files on its website that included court documents, correspondence and dozens of photos that had previously not been made public.
Some of that material appeared to be sexual in nature and was redacted. Others were marked CSAM, which stands for "child sex abuse material."
Follow live updates.
Epstein wascharged in 2019 in Manhattan federal courtwith sex trafficking of minors, many of whom he allegedly preyed on while they were performing massages on him. He died behind bars while awaiting trial and his death was ruled a suicide.
In the files that were released in December, there are several photos of Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell on what appear to be trips or vacations with others.
Epstein surrounded himself with rich and influential people and was friends for many years with Trump before the Manhattan mogul was elected president.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has not been accused of or charged with any crimes related to Epstein. He and Epstein were fast friends until they had a falling out nearly 20 years ago.
In addition to Trump, Epstein had socialized with powerful men such as former President Bill Clinton, Ohio billionaireLes Wexnerand the former Prince Andrew of Britain, among others.
Epstein'sdeathwhile awaiting trial fueled years ofconspiracy theories,some of which Trump himself fanned.
During the presidential campaign in 2024, Trump promised to"declassify the Epstein files"if elected. And in February, his handpicked attorney general, Bondi, announced that an Epstein client list was "sitting on my desk right now" waiting to be reviewed and released.
But the"Epstein binders"Bondi circulated to MAGA influencers contained no client list and turned out to be information that had already been made public.
Trump's core supporters erupted in fury when theDOJ and the FBI announcedin July that an exhaustive Epstein case review had uncovered no evidence that justified investigating other individuals. Despite earlier pledges of transparency, the DOJ said no more information about the case would be released.
Faced with a revolt by some of his most ardent supporters, Trump at first called the demands for releasing the files a "Democratic hoax."
But the drumbeat for Trump and his DOJ to release the files grew louder in November when Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released emails written by Epstein in which he wrote that Trump"knew about the girls,"but didn't directly accuse him of any wrongdoing. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was a selective release intended to smear the president.
Under pressure, the House and the Senate overwhelmingly passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act on Nov. 19.
Epstein was first charged by Florida federal prosecutors in 2006 with having sex with a minor. He wound up pleading guilty to state charges involving a single underage victim after reaching a secret nonprosecution agreement.
That deal resulted in Epstein serving 13 months in a Palm Beach County jail, where he was allowed to leave almost daily via a work-release program andhave his own private security detail.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison term for conspiring to sex traffic minors and was reportedly seeking to get her sentencecommuted by Trump, according to a whistleblower report to Congress.
Last month,Maxwell asked a federal judgein the Southern District of New York to set aside her sex trafficking conviction and free her from prison. She claimed "substantial new evidence" had emerged.
