In the case Jeffrey Epstein The US Department of Justice says it found more than a million additional documents that could be related to the convicted sex offender. The FBI and the Manhattan district attorney’s office discovered the files, it said in a statement.
Due to the amount of material, their legally mandated publication will take a few more weeks, it said. “Lawyers are working around the clock to make the legally required redactions to protect victims, and we will release the documents as quickly as possible,” the ministry said. Information about the circumstances of the find was initially not available.
The release of the Epstein files is one of the central political issues of the year in the USA. The government of President Donald Trump began publishing the documents available so far on Friday. In doing so, it is complying with a law that Congress passed against Trump’s wishes, including with votes from Republicans. It requires all Epstein documents to be released by December 19, but allowed some redactions to protect victims.
Trump’s relationship with Epstein
The dataset includes email histories, scans of court documents, photos and video and audio recordings. However, the previous publications were so heavily redacted that it also angered some Republicans.
Epstein is said to have introduced some of his acquaintances to minors for sex. He was found dead in prison in 2019 in what was ruled a suicide. Trump and Epstein were high-profile friends in the 1990s and early 2000s before falling out before Epstein’s first conviction in 2008.
Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing and has denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes. Many of Trump’s supporters believe, according to previous polls, that the government is withholding files on Epstein that would show his connections to influential figures.
