Victims' advocates are expressing outrage after the US Justice Department failed to meet the 19 December deadline mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act to release all investigative files relating to the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The department has released only a fraction of the documents, with more than two million files still under review.
“It has never been about the victims. It’s about powerful men covering up for each other, and that cover-up continues,” said Lisa Bloom, who represents 11 Epstein survivors. Jennifer Plotkin of Merson Law, which represents nearly three dozen survivors, added: “The government continues to avoid accountability and disregards the victims.”
Gloria Allred, an attorney for more than 20 survivors, stated: “For many of the victims, they are tired of the excuses. Justice delayed is justice denied. There have been three decades of denial of justice for survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and the pattern continues.”
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump after months of bipartisan pressure, required the release of all files within 30 days of its passage. Trump had vowed to release the files but ultimately delegated the decision to Congress. While some documents were disclosed on the deadline, the Justice Department admitted in a 5 January court filing that it had uploaded 12,285 documents (approximately 125,575 pages), but more than two million potentially responsive documents remain unreviewed.
Advocates criticised the delay as a violation of federal law, with Allred noting that a judge has asked the department to explain its non-compliance. The act's co-sponsors, Democrat Ro Khanna and Republican Thomas Massie, have questioned the slow pace of the release.
