• Department of Justice redacted names of government officials and politically exposed individuals in Friday release
• Bipartisan lawmakers threaten impeachment after agency fails to comply with transparency deadline
• Survivor tells CNN the agency is "protecting themselves, not the victims"

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TDR) — The Department of Justice released thousands of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on its website Friday afternoon, meeting the midnight deadline set by the Epstein Files Transparency Act signed into law by President Donald Trump last month. However, the heavily redacted documents immediately drew bipartisan condemnation from the very lawmakers who fought to make them public.

Many viewers reacted with disgust over the amount of blacked-out information within the almost four thousand files, despite Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's claim that the administration was attempting to protect "every single victim" of the late financier's decades-long abuse.

"Simply releasing a mountain of blacked out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer issued that statement Friday, pointing specifically to a 119-page document from a New York grand jury where every single page was completely blacked out.

Law Required Full Disclosure

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which passed Congress with near-unanimous support last month, explicitly stated that the Justice Department must "make publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format all unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials" related to Epstein within 30 days. The law further specified that no record shall be withheld on the basis of "embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary."

Despite that clear language, Fox News Digital reported that the Justice Department applied the same redaction standards used to protect victims to "politically exposed individuals and government officials," shielding their identities from public view.

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Rep. Ro Khanna, the California Democrat who co-authored the transparency legislation with Rep. Thomas Massie, blasted the document release in a video posted to social media.

"The Justice Department's document dump this afternoon does not comply with Thomas Massie and my Epstein Transparency Act."

Khanna said he and Massie were exploring all legal options, including bringing articles of impeachment against Justice Department officials.

Survivors Express Frustration

Lisa Phillips, who says she was in her 20s when she first met Epstein and endured years of abuse from him and others in his network, told CNN's Kaitlan Collins that she believes the Justice Department was "protecting themselves, not the victims" following the partial, heavily redacted release.

"I feel like they have so much information to start connecting the dots and for survivors to get justice," Phillips said. "But as you're seeing, we just keep stalling."

In a letter to Congress obtained by Fox News Digital, Blanche revealed the department had identified more than 1,200 victims through its review process and redacted references to their names along with any materials that could result in their identification. However, critics argue that protection does not explain why politically connected figures received the same treatment.

Clinton Photos Dominate Initial Release

The files that were made public featured a heavy dose of former President Bill Clinton, including previously unseen photographs showing him in a hot tub with a person whose face was redacted and standing next to Epstein in what appears to be cultural garb.

Angel Ureña, a spokesperson for Clinton, accused the Trump administration of focusing on the former president to distract from its own handling of the documents.

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"They can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn't about Bill Clinton. Never has, never will be," Ureña said in a statement. "This is about shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they'll try and hide forever."

More Documents Expected

The total release Friday included approximately 3,965 files totaling more than 2.5 gigabytes of photos and documents, according to CBS News. However, Blanche acknowledged in his letter to Congress that the production was incomplete and that additional materials would be released "on a rolling basis" through the end of the year.

That admission drew sharp criticism from Massie, who highlighted language in the law requiring release of "all" documents "not later than 30 days after the date of enactment."

"This grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law," Massie wrote on social media.

Will lawmakers follow through on threats of impeachment if the Justice Department continues withholding Epstein documents?

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