Local News
By Rieley McDonnell, Head Copy Editor
A month past the deadline for release and the full list of Epstein files is still unreleased.
The law passed by Congress said the Department of Justice (DOJ) needed to release certain documents relating to Jeffey Epstein by Dec. 19, 2025. There are reportedly over 2 million documents with less than 13,000 of them released.
All of this is also in light of the art installation put up on the national mall yesterday for Epstein’s birthday. The piece is a blown-up image of a birthday card President Donald Trump sent Epstein in 2003.
Because of the small number of releases many are worrying if justice will be afforded to Epstein’s victims.
“I feel no sympathy for anyone in the files,” sophomore Philosophy, Politics, and the Public and political science double major Jacob Wineinger stated. “I also worry that no actual justice will be done. Anyone in the files should get life in prison.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) website under the Epstein Library section, which is where all the currently released documents are housed, has a message on the current status of the files.
“In view of the Congressional deadline, all reasonable efforts have been made to review and redact personal information pertaining to victims, other private individuals, and protect sensitive materials from disclosure,” the DOJ website states.
There have been talks about holding members of the DOJ accountable by appointing a neutral expert to oversee the effort. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton sent a letter to Judge Paul Englemayer, who was petitioned to appoint the expert by members of Congress, saying there was no jurisdiction to appoint a neutral expert.
The letter’s reasoning is that there is no basis for oversight to be allowed because the representatives who asked for it were not a party in the original criminal case regarding Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell was a former associate of Epstein who faced trial in 2021 and was found guilty of trafficking minors for sex.
Another tactic that could be used to get the files released is holding Attorney General Pam Bondi in inherent contempt. Inherent contempt would allow Congress to compel the release of the files.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Ca., was reportedly drafting measures to hold Bondi in inherent contempt back in December. These articles would give the DOJ another 30 days to get all the files released.
“They also need to release the FBI witness interviews which name other men, so the public can know who was involved. That is why Massie and I are bringing inherent contempt against Bondi and requested a special master to oversee this process,” Khanna said in a statement made last Friday.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act was a bipartisan effort within the House of Representatives to force the release of the Epstein files. The vote was in limbo for four months. The original discharge petition was introduced to the House in July and did not pass until November.
Lack of released info on Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell has sparked questions about who was involved with the two and their trafficking crimes.
The vote was able to take place on Nov. 19, 2025, because Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Az., was sworn into the House and officially signed the discharge petition to get the bill onto the House floor. Grijalva’s swearing in ceremony was delayed by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson during the government shutdown.
The House voted to release the Epstein files, the Senate then passed the bill via a procedure of unanimous consent and finally President Donald Trump signed the bill into law.
These files, which were voted to be released by the bill, regard all the information that the DOJ has collected about the late convicted sex trafficker.
A stipulation within the law allows for the DOJ to stop the release of select files that may jeopardize current investigations. Other reasons for withholding specific files include classified status, national security concerns and foreign policy information.
