Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday that, as far as the Department of Justice is concerned, its review of files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein “is over” — even though some lawmakers and victims are pushing for more information and aren’t convinced the job is done.
Mr. Blanche said the department’s release of more than 3 million files on Friday means it has fully complied with the Epstein Act, which requires the release of all the government’s files about the late sex trafficker. He added that only a small set of documents remains tied up in court.
“This review is over,” the No. 2 Justice Department official said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I mean, we reviewed over 6 million pieces of paper, thousands of videos, tens of thousands of images, which is what the statute required us to do.”
Some lawmakers, particularly Democrats, view the situation very differently.
Rep. Jaime Raskin of Maryland said the Trump administration has spent months trying to shut down the Epstein case.
“They have done no real investigation,” Mr. Raskin said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Their entire determination has been to shut it down to protect Donald Trump.”
Rep. Ro Khanna, California Democrat, said Sunday that the Justice Department still hasn’t complied with the Epstein Act, which he and Rep. Thomas Massie, Kentucky Republican, pushed through Congress last year.
“They’ve released at best half the documents,” Mr. Khanna said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
He added that some Epstein victims are upset that their own names were included in the files while the names of alleged abusers were redacted. He said the victims “want to make sure the rest of the files come out,” and he hopes to meet with Mr. Blanche to understand why certain redactions were made.
Mr. Khanna said that he and Mr. Massie are ready to escalate if necessary: “If we don’t get the remaining files … and if the survivors are not happy, then Thomas Massie and I are prepared to move on impeachment or contempt.”
Mr. Blanche said he’s “totally fine” with lawmakers reviewing the unredacted materials.
“We have nothing to hide,” he said. “We never did, and our doors are open if they want to come and review any of the materials that we produced.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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