Epstein files live: Democrats call on Trump admin to explain over fears DOJ ‘hiding things’ after 500 pages blacked out

As Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles is one of the few people the president really trusts, writes Jon Sopel. So why did this savvy political operator go on-the-record with Vanity Fair to paint such a damning picture of the White House?

A woman who reported Epstein for his then alleged interest in child pornography in 1996 said she felt ‘vindicated’ by the release of the files.

Maria Farmer told the New York Times: “I’ve waited 30 years. I can’t believe it. They can’t call me a liar anymore.”

Ms Farmer’s original report was never publicly acknowledged by the FBI.

She said that “they should all be ashamed”, having not acted until years after the report. Epstein was first arrested in 2006.

Ro Khanna called for US Attorney General Pam Bondi or deputy Todd Blanche to stand in front of the country and share the timeline for the full release of the Epstein Files.

He told reporters on Friday that the DoJ should explain to the public why redactions were made, and what can be reasonably expected.

“They have not been transparent, and that’s why that’s people’s biggest concern on this – that they’re hiding things,” he said.

Ro Khanna continues to jostle to the DoJ for transparency over the partially released Epstein Files

Pam Bondi faced backlash over her boasts of the Trump administration’s ‘transparency’ on Saturday in the wake of the partial release of the Epstein files.

The US Attorney General wrote on social media that “President Trump is leading the most transparent administration in American history” after the DoJ moved forward with plans to share documents on the 2024 assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, PA.

She was roundly criticised on social media by users sharing heavily redacted documents from the new trove of Epstein Files.

Representative Ro Khanna accused the DoJ of making “excessive redactions” in the latest release of the documents on Jeffrey Epstein.

The Democrat congressman, who co-wrote the law requiring the full release of the files, said Friday’s document dump fell short of what was legally required.

“What we found out is the most important documents are missing,” Khanna told CNN.

“They’ve had excessive redactions, and the central question that Americans want to know – who are the other rich and powerful men on the island, raping these young girls or covering up – has not been answered.”

He said the two documents survivors wanted to see were a 60-count indictment against Epstein and an 82-page memo supporting it drawn up by Marie Villafaña in 2007.

Villafaña, then leading the investigation of Epstein for the US attorney’s office in Miami, was never able to file the indictment as her superiors sought a deal with Epstein instead.

Neither document was included in the files released on Friday.

Reacting to the Department of Justice only releasing some of the files, Democrat Suhas Subramanyam from the US House Oversight Committee told CNN: “They are absolutely in violation of the law, they just admitted they were in violation of the law.

“The law said they needed to release everything by today. Not starting today, not part of it today, all of it by today.”

He added: “There’s no excuse for this. They are in violation of the law and we will pursue every possible legal avenue.”

New York senator Chuck Schumer said the “heavily redacted” documents released on Friday were “just a fraction of the whole body of evidence” – adding that pages of blacked out text “violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law”.

President Donald Trump did not acknowledge the release of the long-awaited Jeffrey Epstein files in a rally speech Friday night, as his administration was blasted for failing to publish the complete documents despite the deadline being set by law.

The president ignored reporter’s questions about the Epstein files while heading to North Carolina, where he gave a 90-minute speech Friday night.

The document dump by the Department of Justice consists of thousands of photographs and redacted files in the Jeffrey Epstein case, but no context.

In the enormous data sets, which are split into four batches, the files include photos from various trips Epstein took with associates, images inside his properties, and copies of largely redacted documents from inquiries.

Bill Clinton is featured prominently in the files, though the records included no explanation of how the photographs of the former president related to any investigation or the context surrounding them.

Senior Trump White House aides took to X to promote the Clinton photos.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote “Oh my!” and added a shocked face emoji in response to a photo of Clinton in the hot tub.

“They can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton,” Clinton spokesman Angel Ureña said in a statement.

“There are two types of people here,” he said. “The first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light. The second group continued relationships after that. We’re in the first. No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that.”