The Justice Department has said it will release nearly 50,000 documents related to the case of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that have previously been withheld from circulation by the end of this week.
A department spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal Tuesday evening that “47,635 files were offline for further review and should be ready for re-production by the end of the week.”
The withheld documents reportedly include unverified allegations against Epstein, who was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, that either mention or implicate President Trump — who enjoyed a close relationship with the financier in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Trump has insisted that the released files exonerate him of any legalm moral or ethical wrongdoing in regard to Epstein, with whom he reportedly fell out around 2004 amid a property dispute.
Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act signed by Trump in November, the DOJ is obligated to release all its files related to the Epstein case, with redactions only made to protect victims or ongoing investigations.
