Name: DOJ faces midnight deadline to release Epstein files
Uploaded: 2025-12-19T19:35:13.462Z
Duration: 2 min 52 s
Description: The countdown is underway for the U.S. Department of Justice to release the so-called Epstein files.

The countdown is underway for the U.S. Department of Justice to release the so-called Epstein files.

Washington

The Department of Justice is required to release the remainder of its Jeffrey Epstein investigative files by midnight, following the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The law, which received near-unanimous support in Congress and was signed by President Trump, comes after years of legal battles and public demand for transparency.

Bipartisan concerns remain about whether the Trump administration will comply with the deadline. Lawmakers have indicated that failure to release the files could result in legal actions, including possible impeachment or contempt proceedings against officials. The Justice Department has limited avenues to avoid releasing the files unredacted, and the public is monitoring official government websites for the release.

DOJ faces midnight deadline to release Epstein files

And today is deadline day for the Department of Justice to release the remainder of its Jeffrey Epstein investigative files. Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act last month which orders the release after years of legal battles and public pressure. Scripps News congressional correspondent Nathanael Reed joining me now live from our DC newsroom for a bit more on this. So Nate what what was the feeling on the Hill? Are the files gonna be released? Are we getting just get a giant data dump today? Well look Democrats and Republicans both of whom some of whom were one of those files out saying that they are concerned that the Trump administration might not abide with that deadline. Remember this bill passed Congress almost unanimously passed with almost every single vote in the House of Representatives with exception of one in the Senate. Every member voted for it effectively was passed by unanimous consent and ultimately President Trump signed this bill. Now the deadline midnight tonight for the Trump administration to release these files or risk breaking federal law I had the opportunity to catch up with Congressman Thomas Massey. He's the lead Republican sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Again somewhat outspoken among Republicans about wanting to get these files out there at first. Ultimately many other Republicans joining forces with Congressman Massey. I asked him yesterday what he'll be looking for to know or to verify that the Trump administration has complied with the law if they do release a whole lot of files in the next few hours. Take a listen. What are you personally looking for if you have a chance to see those files tonight or tomorrow? We will know if they've really released the files or not if there are other men implicated in these files. If it's like the the document production we saw from the Oversight Committee where not one new name surfaced then then we know that they're not producing the files in earnest. Now remember I asked the lawyer for many of these Epstein victims back when he was on Capitol Hill several months ago if there were any government officials that could be named in the lists of possible offenders people who had associations with Jeffrey Epstein who were accused of abusing women in his company or his presence. He was not willing to answer that question for me. So again there's a lot of you know questions about what we could see in these files. What we could learn that is truly new. Again we will wait to see if they comply with the law but Democrats on Capitol Hill openly saying they could explore either impeachment of Pam Bondi or holding her in contempt of Congress if she breaks the law at this point and does not follow again the statutory requirement deadline passed by Congress to release those files by midnight tonight. There are very few avenues that the Justice Department can get away with not releasing the files unredacted. So again we'll all be watching either archives.gov justice.gov or wherever else to see if those files are released by the deadline tonight Stephanie.

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