In a stunning admission that has ignited bipartisan fury, Attorney General Pam Bondi‘s Justice Department revealed this week that less than 1% of over two million Jeffrey Epstein-related documents have been released—weeks after missing a congressional deadline for full transparency.
Victims’ advocates and survivors, who fought for the Epstein Files Transparency Act signed by President Trump, express heartbreak and betrayal as the DOJ cites victim protections for heavy redactions and endless reviews, even as it “uncovers” millions more hidden records.
Lawmakers from both parties, including the bill’s sponsors Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, threaten contempt charges against Bondi, accusing her of defying the law and shielding powerful figures.
Dubbed the “Epstein Bomb” for its potential to expose elite complicity, the trove remains locked away—who truly decides when it detonates?
In a stunning admission that has ignited bipartisan fury across Washington, the Justice Department under Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed this week that less than 1% of over two million Jeffrey Epstein-related documents have been released—weeks after missing the December 19, 2025, congressional deadline mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
The act, signed into law by President Donald Trump on November 19, 2025, after near-unanimous passage in Congress, required the DOJ to publicly disclose all non-classified records tied to Epstein—the convicted sex trafficker who died in prison in 2019. Yet, in a January 6, 2026, court filing, Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche admitted that only about 12,285 documents (125,575 pages) have been made public so far, with more than 2 million pages—potentially up to 5.2 million—still under review.
Victims’ advocates and survivors, who fought tirelessly for the transparency law, have expressed profound heartbreak and a sense of betrayal. They argue that the DOJ’s repeated citations of “victim protection” as justification for heavy redactions and ongoing delays ring hollow, especially as the department continues to “uncover” millions more records, including videos, photos, and investigative materials from decades-old Florida and New York probes.
Lawmakers from both parties, including the bill’s primary sponsors Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), have accused Bondi of defying congressional intent and potentially shielding powerful figures. The duo, who built an unlikely bipartisan coalition to pass the legislation, have threatened contempt proceedings against Bondi and even proposed a court-appointed special master to oversee compliance. “The DOJ’s lawlessness must stop,” Khanna has stated, while Massie has called the delays a flagrant violation that retraumatizes survivors.
Initial releases included old photos of former President Bill Clinton with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell (serving a 20-year sentence), 1990s flight logs mentioning Trump, and references to celebrities like Mick Jagger and Kevin Spacey—though the DOJ insists no evidence of wrongdoing exists for those named. Critics, however, point to extensive redactions as evidence of selective disclosure.
Dubbed the “Epstein Bomb” for its potential to expose decades of elite complicity in Epstein’s network—which abused hundreds of underage girls—the massive trove remains largely locked away. Over 400 DOJ attorneys and 100 FBI analysts are reportedly working around the clock, but the slow pace has fueled nationwide outrage, conspiracy theories, and demands for accountability ahead of the 2026 midterms.
As partisan tensions escalate, with Democrats decrying a possible cover-up and some Republicans frustrated by the holdups, the saga underscores deep divisions over transparency in one of America’s most infamous scandals. The lingering secrets of Epstein’s web continue to cast a shadow over the nation’s power brokers.
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