--- title: Incomplete Epstein Files Release Draws Criticism description: Victims of Jeffrey Epstein and congressional lawmakers condemned the Justice Department for only partially releasing the long-awaited files. canonical: https://time.com/7342034/epstein-files-release-survivors-lawmakers-trump-doj-bondi-criticism/ author: Nandika Chatterjee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-12-20T17:17:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2025-12-20T21:40:29.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Incomplete Epstein Files Release Draws Criticism og:description: Victims of Jeffrey Epstein and congressional lawmakers condemned the DOJ for only partially releasing the files. og:url: https://time.com/7342034/epstein-files-release-survivors-lawmakers-trump-doj-bondi-criticism/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13e72b77db9df6b9/6998cc771f6709cf8ff5708a/epstein-files-release-survivors-victims-lawmakers-criticism.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: A press conference on the Epstein Files Transparency Act at the US Capitol og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Incomplete Epstein Files Release Draws Criticism twitter:description: Victims of Jeffrey Epstein and congressional lawmakers condemned the DOJ for only partially releasing the files. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13e72b77db9df6b9/6998cc771f6709cf8ff5708a/epstein-files-release-survivors-victims-lawmakers-criticism.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Survivors and Lawmakers Criticize the Trump Administration Over Incomplete Epstein Files Release: ‘What Are They Hiding?’ > Sponsored content. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Nandika Chatterjee](https://time.com/author/nandika-chatterjee/) ## Nandika Chatterjee Updated: Dec 20, 2025 9:40 PM UTCPublished: Dec 20, 2025 5:17 PM UTC  Epstein abuse survivor Marina Lacerda speaks during the press conference on the Epstein Files Transparency Act at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on November 18, 2025. Epstein abuse survivor Marina Lacerda speaks during the press conference on the Epstein Files Transparency Act at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on November 18, 2025. Celal Gunes—Anadolu/Getty Images by [Nandika Chatterjee](https://time.com/author/nandika-chatterjee/) ## Nandika Chatterjee Updated: Dec 20, 2025 9:40 PM UTCPublished: Dec 20, 2025 5:17 PM UTC Victims of Jeffrey Epstein and congressional lawmakers are condemning the Department of Justice for [only partially releasing files](https://time.com/7341922/epstein-files-released/) related to the late convicted sex offender on Friday, the deadline set for the government to release all of its Epstein-related documents under a [law](https://time.com/7335230/trump-signs-epstein-files-bill/) passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump last month. "For survivors, this deadline was not symbolic for us but was a real opportunity to see whether transparency would finally outweigh the protection of powerful interests, after decades of reporting this abuse," Liz Stein, an Epstein survivor and anti-trafficking advocate, said in a statement. "The DOJ’s partial, staggered release—largely repeating already public information, lacking context, and extending beyond the statutory deadline—violates federal law and risks shielding the individuals and institutions who perpetrated and enabled this abuse, falling far short of the transparency intended by the Epstein Files Transparency Act.” Other survivors similarly told _The New York Times_ that they felt the [DOJ had failed them](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/us/epstein-files-victims-reaction.html?smid=url-share), saying that the incomplete and heavily redacted documents the agency released provided scant new information about Epstein’s decades of sexual abuse or the efforts to investigate him. “We have been let down,” Marina Lacerda, who has alleged she was 14 years old when Epstein began sexually abusing her, said to the outlet. “We waited for this day to bring these other men who have been protected to justice.” Speaking to [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/14/us/video/whats-going-on-here-gloria-allred-attorney-for-27-epstein-survivors-on-new-email-release), Gloria Allred, a lawyer who has represented more than 20 of survivors of Epstein’s abuse, noted that “there was resistance by this administration to releasing the Epstein files.” “The question is, Is there a coverup?" she asked. "What are they hiding?” While the full impact of the thousands of photos and documents connected with Epstein that the DOJ released on Friday remains unclear at this time, given the sheer volume of materials, reviews so far suggest they include no major new revelations. The [Epstein Files Transparency Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4405/text) gave the department 30 days to “make publicly available” a broad collection of unclassified files related to Epstein, his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and other figures tied to their cases. The law did allow records to be withheld if their release could jeopardize ongoing investigations, threaten national security, or identify Epstein’s victims. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said during a Friday [interview](https://x.com/atrupar/status/2002002424739864985) with Fox News that the Justice Department planned to release “several hundred thousand” documents but would withhold an unspecified amount while lawyers continued to review the materials to ensure victims’ privacy was protected. He said more “several hundred thousand more” records would be released in the coming weeks. The department released some additional files on Saturday. The remarks drew immediate outcry from lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Several who championed the push to force the files’ release accused the Administration of violating the law and threatened to take legal action. In a [joint statement](https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/joint-statement-by-ranking-members-jamie-raskin-and-robert-garcia-on-trump-administration-s-decision-to-defy-epstein-files-transparency-act-and-continue-epstein-cover-up), Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Robert Garcia, ranking member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, criticized the Justice Department after Blanche said it would not release the full Epstein files by the deadline. “For months, \[Attorney General\] Pam Bondi has denied survivors the transparency and accountability they have demanded and deserve and has defied the Oversight Committee’s subpoena,” they wrote. “The Department of Justice is now making clear it intends to defy Congress itself, even as it gives star treatment to Epstein's convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.” The statement continued: “The survivors of this nightmare deserve justice, the co-conspirators must be held accountable, and the American people deserve complete transparency from DOJ.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for more information about the redactions in the files released Friday. “Simply releasing a mountain of blacked out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law,” he said in a [statement](https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/leader-schumer-statement-on-the-trump-administration-releasing-a-fraction-of-the-epstein-files). “For example, all 119 pages of one document were completely blacked out. We need answers as to why.” He added that Senate Democrats were working to determine how to “hold the Trump administration accountable” and would “pursue every option to make sure the truth comes out.” Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who co-authored the Epstein Files Transparency Act with Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, posted a video on [X](https://x.com/RoKhanna/status/2002150152690348438) saying the Justice Department’s release “does not comply” with the law. “Our law requires them to explain redactions. There is not a single explanation,” Khanna said. He called the release “incomplete” and said he was considering steps including impeachment, contempt proceedings, or a criminal referral. “We will work with the survivors to demand the full release of these files,” he said. Khanna told CNN that he and Massie are [drafting articles of impeachment](https://x.com/kaitlancollins/status/2002208332107378749) and inherent contempt against Bondi, but have not yet decided whether to pursue them. Massie, who led the petition that forced the House vote on compelling the Justice Department to release the files, said on [X](https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/2002155838467965273) that the release “grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law” requiring the disclosure. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, another one of the four Republicans who publicly defied Trump to force the vote, said on [X](https://x.com/RepMTG/status/2002093132389990500) on Friday: “My goodness, what is in the Epstein files? Release all the files. It’s literally the law.” She added in a separate [post](https://x.com/RepMTG/status/2002193414943645730): “The whole point was NOT to protect the ‘politically exposed individuals and government officials.’ That’s exactly what MAGA has always wanted, that’s what drain the swamp actually means. It means expose them all, the rich powerful elites who are corrupt and commit crimes, NOT redact their names and protect them. What happened to ‘I am your retribution’? It’s literally part of the bill I voted for.” The files released Friday contained few references to Trump, whose name and photos have appeared in other documents related to the case, but included photographs of other prominent people known to have associated with Epstein, including Maxwell; former President Bill Clinton; Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former British prince, and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson; and celebrities, journalists, and musicians such as Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, and Diana Ross. None of the photos appear to show illegal activity, and Trump, Clinton, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, and Diana Ross have not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims,[alleged](https://time.com/7326183/epstein-victim-virginia-giuffre-ghislaine-maxwell-memoir/) forced sexual encounters with Andrew when she was a teen. The British royal, who was stripped of his remaining titles and evicted from his royal residence this fall amid scrutiny over his ties to Epstein, has repeatedly denied the allegations. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors over the course of a decade. Spencer Kuvin, an attorney for multiple Epstein survivors, said in a statement to [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/19/epstein-victims-condemn-doj-files-release) after the release that it was “no great surprise” the Justice Department failed to meet the deadline. “Unfortunately, the Department of Justice has dragged its feet regarding these documents for the last 18 years so the victims don’t expect much by way of openness or honesty,” Kuvin said. “These young women have been lied to and repeatedly denied justice by system that was meant to protect them. The public need to demand more and continue to require accountability.” Jess Michaels, an Epstein survivor who has been advocating for the disclosures, said on _MS Now_ that she was “highly emotional” but relieved the Justice Department’s obfuscations were now visible to the public. Michaels is one of Epstein’s earliest known victims, having alleged that she was sexually assaulted by the disgraced financier in 1991 when she was 22 years old and training to be a dancer. “I’m also feeling strangely validated,” she said of the Friday release, “because in plain sight, and even with an act of Congress, we’re seeing the exact same delays, negligence, corruption, incompetence that we’ve seen consistently and have been advocating about. So they’ve actually proved our point.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7342034/epstein-files-release-survivors-lawmakers-trump-doj-bondi-criticism/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7342034/epstein-files-release-survivors-lawmakers-trump-doj-bondi-criticism/"},"headline":"Survivors and Lawmakers Criticize the Trump Administration Over Incomplete Epstein Files Release: ‘What Are They Hiding?’","datePublished":"2025-12-20T17:17:57.000Z","dateModified":"2025-12-20T21:40:29.000Z","description":"Victims of Jeffrey Epstein and congressional lawmakers condemned the Justice Department for only partially releasing the long-awaited files.","url":"https://time.com/7342034/epstein-files-release-survivors-lawmakers-trump-doj-bondi-criticism/","keywords":["Trump Administration","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13e72b77db9df6b9/6998cc771f6709cf8ff5708a/epstein-files-release-survivors-victims-lawmakers-criticism.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nandika Chatterjee","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nandika-chatterjee/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13e72b77db9df6b9/6998cc771f6709cf8ff5708a/epstein-files-release-survivors-victims-lawmakers-criticism.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A press conference on the Epstein Files Transparency Act at the US Capitol","caption":"A press conference on the Epstein Files Transparency Act at the US Capitol","creditText":"Celal Gunes—Anadolu/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/trump-administration/","name":"Trump Administration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7342034/epstein-files-release-survivors-lawmakers-trump-doj-bondi-criticism/","name":"Survivors and Lawmakers Criticize the Trump Administration Over Incomplete Epstein Files Release: ‘What Are They Hiding?’"}}]}] ```