In a significant development concerning the high-profile Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation, Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche has publicly declared that the prosecutorial review of the case "is over." This announcement comes amidst ongoing controversy surrounding the release of millions of pages of related documents by the Department of Justice.
Blanche Defends Justice Department's Position
Speaking to ABC News on Sunday, Blanche, who has served as the Trump administration's point person for the Epstein files release, firmly stated that prosecutors have concluded their examination of the Epstein-Ghislaine Maxwell sex-trafficking matter. The late convicted sex offender Epstein's scheme ultimately led to Maxwell receiving a 20-year prison sentence beginning in 2022.
"Victims want to be made whole after surviving this horrific scheme," Blanche acknowledged in separate comments to CNN. "And we want that too. But that doesn't mean we can just create evidence or manufacture a case that isn't substantiated by the available facts."
Transparency Concerns and Political Criticism
Blanche's declaration has sparked immediate pushback from Democratic lawmakers who argue that the Justice Department has failed to comply with legal requirements for full transparency. The deputy attorney general made his comments just days after the DoJ released approximately three million pages of Epstein-related documents, which some critics claim represents only a fraction of the total materials.
"We have nothing to hide. We never did," Blanche asserted, expressing what he called "amazement" that the department faced accusations of a cover-up less than twenty-four hours after releasing millions of files. He did acknowledge that "there's a lot of horrible photographs that appear to be taken by Mr Epstein or by people around him," but emphasized that "that doesn't allow us necessarily to prosecute somebody."
Democratic Lawmakers Demand Full Disclosure
California Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, who co-authored the transparency legislation governing the Epstein documents release, strongly disputed the completeness of Friday's disclosure. "They've released at best half the documents," Khanna told CNN. "But even those shock the conscience of this country."
Khanna referenced files that revealed connections between Epstein and prominent figures including billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, though neither has been accused of wrongdoing. "You have some of the most wealthy individuals, tech leaders, finance leaders, politicians, all implicated in some way," Khanna stated, describing the situation as "one of the largest scandals in my view in our country's history."
Survivor Concerns and Redaction Issues
The congressman further highlighted ongoing concerns from survivors and their legal representatives, noting that victims remain "upset that many of their names accidentally came out without redaction" and continue to demand the release of all remaining files. Blanche addressed these redaction concerns during his Sunday interviews, stating that any errors were "immediately rectified" and affected only ".001% of all the materials."
Maryland Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin criticized what he characterized as the Trump administration's premature closure of the matter, remarking that "case closed has been their mantra" for weeks. He dismissed the three million documents released on Friday as "close to nothing when they're deciding which documents are coming out."
Continued Calls for Accountability
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries reinforced this position during an appearance on ABC's This Week program. "It's not over and it will not be over until there is full and complete transparency as demanded by the survivors," Jeffries declared, "so that there can be full and complete accountability."
Jeffries further alleged that "more documents are being withheld" by what he sarcastically termed "the department of injustice," posing the critical question: "What are they hiding from the American people and who are they protecting?"
The Justice Department has previously explained that many of the Epstein pages in their files represent duplicates across separate investigations conducted in Florida and New York. Epstein, a former associate of Donald Trump, pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida state charges of prostitution and solicitation of prostitution with a minor before reportedly taking his own life in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
