After a Donald Trump U-turn, the Epstein files – thousands of documents relating to criminal investigations into the deceased paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – are due for release. An official says hundreds of thousands should be shared shortly – but not yet all of them. Follow the latest.
Friday 19 December 2025 20:12, UK
Donald Trump has just finished speaking at the White House after making an announcement on drug prices.
But with just hours left to go before all the Epstein files are required to be released by law, the US president didn’t mention the topic.
He also didn’t open the floor to questions from reporters.
The Department of Justice has insisted that it will meet the deadline to release the Epstein files today.
In a post on X, it said it was publishing a “massive tranche” of new documents that previous administrations had refused to release.
“The initial deadline is being met as we work diligently to protect victims,” it added.
By law, the files must be released by 4.59am UK time – 11.59pm ET.
Concerns have been raised by Democrats and Republicans that the deadline will not be met after deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said only some of the files will be released today.
Donald Trump is speaking at the White House as the deadline to release all files relating to Jeffrey Epstein approaches.
The US president will be talking about drug prices, but there’s every chance he could be asked about the files if he opens the floor to questions.
You can watch along at the top of this live page. We’ll also bring you text updates if he mentions the files.
Trump’s government has around 10 hours to release the Epstein files.
The US president signed a bill from Congress on 20 November, starting the 30-day countdown for all the files related to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein to be published.
The law states that “all documents and records in possession of the Department of Justice relating to Jeffrey Epstein, and for other purposes” must be released.
What happens if they aren’t?
We’ve already heard from several US politicians – both Democrat and Republican – who have suggested that not releasing all the files would be a breach of federal law.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said they were examining “all legal options” after deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said the Epstein files will be released in part today (see 13.40).
Republican Thomas Massie, who pushed to force a vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, said there was no ambiguity with the law and there will be penalties if it is not followed.
But the text of the law does not detail a specific penalty for failing to meet the deadline, so it’s hard to determine exactly what action will be taken.
One thing is for sure, Trump will face a political storm if the deadline isn’t met.
Throughout his presidential campaign, he promised voters that he would release the files – and his own MAGA base has been behind the demands for full transparency.
Earlier, we told you that we expect to hear from Donald Trump at around 6pm UK time as the deadline for the full release of the Epstein files approaches.
We’ve now heard that the US president – who is expected to be speaking about drug prices – will appear closer to 7pm.
Stay with us, as he could be asked about the Epstein files by reporters. Watch along in the live stream at the top of this page.
We’ve just been speaking to Hilary Rosen, a US political analyst.
She tells our presenter Saima Mohsin she believes we’ll end up with a “potentially biased” release and a “nothing burger”.
But she warns amid the political one-upmanship between the Republicans and Democrats, the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse are being forgotten.
Watch the interview here…
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have said they are examining “all legal options” after deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said only some of the Epstein files will be released today.
In a post on X, the group said Donald Trump and the Department of Justice were “violating federal law” by not releasing all the files within the 30-day timeframe set out in signed legislation.
You can see the full statement below…
What is the House Oversight Committee?
The group is the main investigative committee of the US House of Representatives.
It is made up of Democrats and Republicans.
In recent weeks, the Democrats on the committee have been leaking a number of photos included in the Epstein files.
Yesterday, it released a batch of 68 photos including: close-ups of sentences from “Lolita,” a book about a man’s obsession with a 12-year-old girl, scribbled in black ink across a woman’s body; redacted identification cards of women from Russia, Morocco, Italy, Czech Republic, South Africa, Ukraine and Lithuania; and a late-night text thread about sending girls for someone only identified as “j” for $1,000 each.
The Department of Justice has been criticised over the plan to only release some of the Epstein files today.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said failing to publish all the files would be “breaking the law”.
“The law Congress passed and President Trump signed was clear as can be – the Trump administration had 30 days to release ALL the Epstein files, not just some,” he said in a statement.
“Failing to do so is breaking the law. This just shows the Department of Justice, Donald Trump, and Pam Bondi are hellbent on hiding the truth.”
Earlier, deputy attorney general Todd Blanche said that he expected the department to release several hundred thousand documents today and several hundred thousand additional files in the coming weeks.
Schumer said Senate Democrats were working with lawyers representing Epstein victims as well as outside legal experts “to assess what documents are being withheld and what is being covered up”.
Republican Thomas Massie showed an image of the law in a post on X this morning, highlighting the line that states “all” files must be released.
Donald Trump, for one reason or another, has been at the centre of calls to release all the Jeffrey Epstein files.
That’s because even his own base has been demanding full transparency, ultimately forcing the president’s hand despite his claims of a “Democrat hoax”.
He has, it must be said, never been accused of any wrongdoing in connection to Epstein, and he denies any.
He’s distanced himself from his former friend, saying they fell out years before his offending came to light.
And ever since his about-turn over the files, his agenda has been typically busy.
At the forefront of his mind over recent weeks has been one country in particular – Venezuela.
Just last night, he told our US partner network NBC News he’s leaving the possibility of a war with the South American country on the table.
“I don’t rule it out, no,” he said in a phone interview.
Read more from NBC in the link below…
Our US correspondent James Matthews has been sharing his thoughts.
He was speaking on the back of the deputy attorney general’s remarks that we’ll see “several hundred thousand documents” in the coming release (see our 13.40 post for more).
But Matthews warns he expects “extensive redactions” in the release and he’s not sure if we’ll get answers from them.
Watch here to find out why…
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