Lawmakers Threaten Prosecution, Impeachment if DOJ Officials Blow Epstein Files Deadline

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the Justice Department is only releasing some of the Epstein files Friday, a move members of Congress slammed as a violation of the law President Trump signed last month. “I expect that we’re going to release several hundred thousand documents today, and those documents will come in all different forms - photographs and other materials associated with all of the investigations into, into Mr. Epstein,” Blanche said on Fox News, adding that “over the next couple of weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more.” The DOJ began the files ‘ release at 4 pm E.T., though the breadth and novelty of the documents is initially unclear. Many are heavily redacted. The webpage had a waiting queue for those trying to access them, and the site’s search function seems nonfunctional - searches for “Epstein” and “Maxwell” return no results. In a letter from Blanche to Congress, he implied that the rest of the files will be released in 2025, writing that he “will inform Congress when that review and production are complete by the end of this year,” per the New York Times . It’s unclear whether that promise, still in violation of the law, will be enough to satisfy the spectrum of lawmakers who threatened retribution for incomplete disclosures on Friday. In an uncaptioned tweet, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who led the effort to release the files with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), highlighted the part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act (signed Nov. 19) that mandates the release of the files “not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this act.” “Any Justice Department official who does not comply with this law will be subject to prosecution for obstruction of justice,” Khanna said in a speech on the House floor this week. “If Pam Bondi does not comply with the law, she will be held either in inherent contempt of Congress or subject to impeachment.” House Oversight Ranking Members Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) did similar saber rattling Friday, saying in a statement: “We are now examining all legal options in the face of this violation of federal law.” “The law Congress passed and President Trump signed was clear as can be - the Trump administration had 30 days to release ALL the Epstein files, not just some,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Said in a statement. “Failing to do so is breaking the law.” “My goodness, what is in the Epstein files?” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) tweeted. “Release all the files. It’s literally the law.” The risk that the Trump administration would manipulate its begrudging release of the files was already high; it’s already presented public information as new material, promised to release the files under its own volition before backtracking and, in the case of Attorney General Pam Bondi, said that an Epstein “client list” doesn’t exist after claiming that it was on her desk. Trump has also repeatedly weaponized the files in an...

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