mirrornews@mirror.co.uk (Charlie Bradley, Zahra Khaliq)
2025-12-19 18:55:00
The US Justice Department confirmed only a portion of the long-awaited Epstein files will be made public today – sparking accusations against Donald Trump that he’s trying to ‘hide the truth’
Donald Trump has been dragged into a fresh row over the Epstein files, with claims the US President is trying to “hide the truth” as officials say the documents will not be published in full by a court-ordered deadline.
With hours to go until their release, the US Justice Department confirmed only a portion of the long-awaited files will be made public today. This is despite Congress mandating their disclosure under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
US deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said “several hundred thousand” records would be released initially, but admitted thousands more would be held back to safeguard Epstein’s victims, with further documents expected in the coming weeks.
The move has prompted accusations of a cover-up by senior Democrats. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said: “Senate Democrats are working closely with attorneys for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and with outside legal experts to assess what documents are being withheld and what is being covered up by Pam Bondi. We will not stop until the whole truth comes out.
“People want the truth and continue to demand the immediate release of all the Epstein files. This is nothing more than a cover up to protect Donald Trump from his ugly past.” Trump has repeatedly denied any involvement in Epstein’s crimes and has said he cut ties with the disgraced financer before his death.
Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the US Department of Justice is legally required to publish all files linked to the Epstein investigation by midnight today, Express reports.
Speaking ahead of the release, Todd Blanche told Fox News: “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, with all of the investigations into Mr Epstein.”
Mr Blanche also explained why there may be a delay in releasing all the files, adding: “What we’re doing is we are looking at every single piece of paper that we are going to produce, making sure that every victim, their name, their identity, their story, to the extent it needs to be protected, is completely protected.
“And so 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 (of) weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more.”
Yesterday, 68 fresh photographs obtained from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate were released. The images feature several famous faces, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates, director Woody Allen, philosopher Noam Chomsky, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. Being pictured does not imply wrongdoing
One image showed a screenshot of a WhatsApp chat showing an unknown contact discussing the recruitment young women, specifically mentioning an 18-year-old from Russia and quoting an apparent fee of “$1,000 per girl.”
The collection also featured images of a young woman with text from the novel Lolita – a book which details a middle-aged man’s obsession with a 12-year-old girl – written on multiple body parts, including her foot, chest, and neck.
