- December 19 is the deadline for the Justice Department to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein.
- The release is the result of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law last month.
- Here's what they could reveal that's different from past Epstein document releases.
More than six years after Jeffrey Epstein died in prison, the world is set to get a closer look into the well-connected financier's sex trafficking of young girls — and what the government did to stop it.
In November, President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act after months of pressure from members of Congress, including some in his own party. The Justice Department was given 30 days from the law's passage to comply, setting a deadline of Friday, December 19.
So what are the chances the world will see the files, and what might they contain? Business Insider has answers to your most pressing questions.
Epstein killed himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. He was known for rubbing elbows with powerful people — even after he was convicted of soliciting sex from a minor in 2008. Over the years, he has counted Trump, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and other titans of finance, law, politics, and science among his acquaintances.
While a past relationship with Epstein is no indication of wrongdoing, his victims and other members of the public have pushed for the disclosure in hopes that the DOJ's records might shed light on those relationships and law enforcement's handling of the case.
Haven't we already seen a whole lot of 'Epstein files'?
In recent months, the House Oversight Committee has made public Epstein-related documents it obtained through subpoenas, including emails provided by his estate and never-before-seen photos of some of Epstein's powerful acquaintances, including Trump, Bill Gates, Larry Summers, and Steve Bannon.
Those disclosures have already led to some fallout. Summers, a former Treasury Secretary, has been barred from the American Economic Association for life and is no longer teaching classes at Harvard University, pending an investigation.
Other documents have been made public over the years through the federal prosecution of Epstein's co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was found guilty of sex trafficking and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Civil lawsuits involving Epstein, Maxwell, banks affiliated with Epstein, and the US Virgin Islands government have shaken loose even more details about his life. Various drips and drabs have also entered the public domain through Freedom of Information Act requests, government reports, and an inquiry from the Senate Finance Committee.
All of that may pale in comparison to what the Justice Department has in its possession.
OK, so what's new here?
By law, the Justice Department is required to publish "all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials" about Epstein and Maxwell.
Those could include more emails and text messages, as well as internal prosecutorial records. The Justice Department has overseen two different criminal investigations into Epstein's sexual abuse of teenage girls. The first took place in Florida and led to a widely criticized plea deal in 2008. The second was the Manhattan-based investigation, which led to Epstein's 2019 arrest and Maxwell's prosecution.
During Epstein's 2019 arrest, the FBI searched his Manhattan townhouse and his home in the US Virgin Islands. In the process, they obtained more than 70 computers, iPads, and hard drives, along with financial documents and binders full of CDs.
Those seized materials form the heart of the "Epstein files," which could shed even more light on the deepest, darkest secrets of the notorious pedophile.
That's a lot! Is there anything else the Justice Department is supposed to release?
Yes! A whole bunch of stuff, including:
- Any deals between the government and Epstein associates, including non-prosecution agreements and sealed settlements.
- Records tied to Epstein's death in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, such as transcripts of interviews with people in neighboring cells the night he died.
- Records into what has widely been criticized as a "sweetheart deal" for Epstein by federal Florida prosecutors.
- Material surrounding calls victims say they made to the FBI as early as the 1990s about Epstein's conduct, which did not lead to any known law enforcement investigation.
- Additional flight records from Epstein's private jets.
What are the chances the DOJ misses the deadline?
By law, the Justice Department is supposed to release everything today. Court filings suggest department staffers have been working feverishly to prepare documents for public release.
Whether the department meets the deadline is an open question, however. One reason is the sheer number of documents they will have to get through — Epstein has been in their crosshairs for some 20 years.
David Boies, an attorney who represents dozens of Epstein victims, told Business Insider on Monday that he's skeptical the Justice Department will release everything on one day.
"Nothing about this case has gone according to schedule," Boies said
Is there anything the government isn't releasing?
The law only requires the Justice Department to make its records publicly available, letting other federal agencies with Epstein records off the hook.
The Treasury Department, for example, won't have to release its records related to Epstein's finances. A separate bill proposed by Sen. Ron Wyden would force more transparency there.
The Federal Aviation Administration maintains flight records that it has so far kept from the public. And to the degree that intelligence agencies like the CIA or the National Security Agency have anything, the bill doesn't cover them.
Doesn't the DOJ have loopholes to keep this stuff secret?
The Epstein Files Transparency Act permits the Justice Department to redact or withhold documents for victim privacy and for national security purposes.
'National security'? That sounds fuzzy.
Well, sure, but there are limits.
Four people who previously accessed the seized material told Business Insider that nothing in them indicated Epstein had any kind of domestic or foreign intelligence role. Nothing in the discovery process or court proceedings for Maxwell's criminal case involved records related to national security.
Furthermore, the Epstein Files Transparency Act requires all redactions to be accompanied by a written justification submitted to Congress.
It also requires the Justice Department to produce material "concerning the destruction, deletion, alteration, misplacement, or concealment" of Epstein-related records — meaning Congress wants to know if there are signs of a cover-up.
What about that new investigation I heard about?
A provision in the law allows the Justice Department to withhold records that "would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution."
Days before the bill's passage, Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to open an investigation into the links between Epstein and JPMorgan Chase, as well as a slew of perceived political enemies. Bondi handed the investigation over to the US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York.
Even if the Justice Department withholds any of those records from the public, it's still required to hand them over to the House Oversight Committee, which subpoenaed them.
Any perceived attempts by the Justice Department to use this investigation as a shield could lead to backlash from both Congress and members of the public. A number of Epstein's victims have pushed for the release of the files, seeking to understand more about the circumstances of their own abuse and the Justice Department's handling of the case.
