After releasing thousands of files related to disgraced paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, the Department of Justice has said there are more than 2,000,000 other documents being reviewed.
Some 12,000 files – photos, notes and legal documents – were released last month, but they represent less than 1% of the material the government has.
Initial estimates believe it could take eight years to review and disclose the remaining files, even with hundreds of attorneys working on the release.
‘While the commitment of Department personnel to this effort has been substantial in breadth and impressive in effort, substantial work remains to be done,’ the department said.
If that timeline proves to be true, the final files won’t be released until well after Donald Trump’s second term in office is over.
It also breaches the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the DOJ to release all unclassified information on Epstein within 30 days.
The delay in releasing the files has sparked anger among politicians and Americans, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer writing on X: ‘It’s been 17 DAYS since the Trump DOJ first broke the law and failed to release all the Epstein files.
‘It’s been 14 DAYS since Trump’s DOJ released anything at all—with the DOJ doing everything in its power to delay and obfuscate. We don’t even truly know how many more files there are to be released. The Trump DOJ’s lawlessness must stop.’
What was in the latest batch of files?
The files released last month, shortly before Christmas, show high-profile celebrities, politicians and even royals.
Former President Bill Clinton was photographed in a hot tub alongside an anonymous woman, swimming in a pool with Ghislaine Maxwell and posing with Epstein and other anonymous women.
The former president has never been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epstein’s abuse, and has denied knowledge of his sex offending.
The files also include photos of Epstein with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, billionaire Richard Branson and the late CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite.
The former member of the Royal Family is seen lying over several people with an awkward smile as Maxwell watches on. He has always denied any accusations of wrongdoing.
Is Trump in the Epstein files?
Yes – he’s been previously mentioned in other documents and photographed with the paedophile on numerous occasions.
According to Reuters, a single photo of Epstein appearing to hold a cheque with Trump’s name on it was found in the files.
Another photo – taken at Epstein’s home in Manhattan, New York – shows a copy of the US President’s 1997 book, Trump: The Art of the Comeback, on a bookshelf.
Trump’s name also appeared in lists of passengers who flew on Epstein’s private jet.
Trump and several members of his family were also seen in Epstein’s contact book made public during Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2021 trial.
The US President has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes when the pair socialised and any wrongdoing with regard to their previous friendship.
But after the initial release of the files, many Democrats claimed Trump’s name was intentionally redacted.
More Trending
The Democrat Party has said an image ‘that includes Donald Trump has now been removed’ from the US justice department’s released file.
They posted a picture of the allegedly removed image, which is shown in a drawer. Oversight Dems wrote: ‘This photo, file 468, from the Epstein files that includes Donald Trump has apparently now been removed from the DOJ release.’
Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democratic minority in the US Senate, has called it potentially ‘one of the biggest cover-ups in American history’.
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