Republican critics fear incomplete disclosure of Epstein files will loom over US midterms
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Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in an undated photo released by the US Department of Justice on Dec 19.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – Extensive redactions and the limited number of documents released
The Trump administration touted this week's release of a cache of Epstein-related files as a show of transparency, but a handful of Republican lawmakers and right-wing media figures joined Democrats in blasting Dec 19’s disclosures as inadequate and possibly in violation of a law that prompted their release.
While the criticism fell short of a broader party backlash, it underscored that the Epstein controversy was far from being put to rest and was likely to linger into 2026, when Republicans will be fighting to keep control of Congress.
The release of files, starting on Dec 19 and followed by a second, much smaller batch released Dec 20, is intended to comply with a bipartisan law passed by Congress in November
The new disclosure represented only a fraction of the total data the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Justice Department have said they possess related to Epstein and was heavily redacted, including several documents or 100 pages or more that were entirely blacked out.
Also notable was the dearth of references to Mr Trump, who had a well-publicised friendship with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s. Instead, the released files extensively featured former president Bill Clinton, a Democrat and political foe
Adding to controversy
Mr Brian Darling, a Republican strategist and former Senate aide, said the limited disclosures would fuel conspiracy theories about Epstein as well as legitimate transparency concerns, potentially dampening turnout among Trump voters.
"The heavily redacted disclosures of the Epstein documents added more fuel to the fire of controversy," Mr Darling said. "This remains a political risk for all Republicans in swing seats going into the midterms."
The US Justice Department on Dec 19 released some 300,000 pages of documents, photos and other materials from the government's investigations into Epstein, who died by suicide in a jail cell in 2019 as he faced federal charges of sex trafficking of minors.
The wealthy financier's history of hobnobbing with prominent figures has fuelled speculation about whether anyone in his social circle was involved with his alleged sexual activity. One person, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, has been convicted on Epstein-related charges to date.
The Epstein scandal resonates with much of Mr Trump's base because it reinforces their belief in a corrupt establishment – often labelled the "Deep State" – willing to protect itself at all costs, a narrative Mr Trump has repeatedly promoted.
University of Oklahoma political science professor Rachel Blum said the lack of fuller disclosures could erode support among some Trump backers, including young men who swung to him in 2024 in part over their distrust of government.
"He's at risk of becoming the Deep State," Prof Blum said. "I think this has the potential to damage his credibility more than a lot of the other scandals he's gone through."
'People are raging and walking away’
The Justice Department's initial disclosure fell short of the law's mandate that all investigative files involving Epstein be released by Dec 19. The law allowed for records to be withheld or redacted if the information posed a threat to national security or identified victims of sexual abuse.
Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche said on Dec 19 that the deadline was missed due to the massive volume of data and the need for careful redactions to protect victims. He promised to release more files "over the next couple of weeks".
Democrats criticised the administration for not releasing all the files and for the extensive redactions. Representative Ro Khanna of California, who co-authored the law requiring full disclosure, floated possible impeachment of Mr Blanche and Attorney-General Pam Bondi over the failure to release the files on time.
Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky who worked with Mr Khanna on the legislation, said he, too, believed that Ms Bondi was in violation of the law, warning in a post to X that she and others could face criminal charges in future when the Justice Department was in Democratic hands.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a House Republican who split with Mr Trump in November over her efforts to compel disclosure of the Epstein files, cited the failure to release all the documents as well as the heavy redactions as among actions she considered inconsistent with Mr Trump's Make America Great Again movement.
"People are raging and walking away," she wrote on X.
Some conservative commentators also criticised the Justice Department's decision not to disclose more.
Right-wing podcaster and former FBI agent Kyle Seraphin reposted an old X post by Ms Bondi praising the Trump administration as the most transparent in history, saying: “One gets the feeling that this is tongue in cheek at this point…”
Mr Owen Shroyer, a podcaster who was pardoned by Mr Trump for his role in the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol but has since become a critic of the President, said he believed the Justice Department was intentionally slow-walking disclosures.
"They covered up the Epstein Files. No other way to put it now," Mr Shroyer wrote on X after Dec 19's release. REUTERS
