Lawmakers Criticize Justice Dept. For Not Releasing All Epstein Files

Lawmakers from both parties on Friday accused the Justice Department of failing to comply with a law requiring the release of all of its material on Jeffrey Epstein, citing extensive redactions and the department's acknowledgment that it had not finished reviewing or making public some files.

Representative Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky and one of the lawmakers who wrote the statute, said in a social media post that the release of the files "grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law."

Representative Ro Khanna, Democrat of California and the measure's co-sponsor, said that he believed a number of documents were missing, particularly a "draft indictment" that he said implicated others who watched or participated in the "abuse of young girls."

"It is an incomplete release, with too many redactions," Mr. Khanna said, adding that he and Mr. Massie were weighing whether they might impeach officials, move to hold them in contempt of Congress or refer them for prosecution "for obstructing justice."

Under the law, which Congress passed and President Trump signed last month, the Justice Department was required to release all of its investigative material on Mr. Epstein by Friday, though it was allowed to redact and withhold certain material.

But in a letter to Congress sent before the release, Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, acknowledged that the department was not done reviewing or redacting files.

"I anticipate this ongoing review being completed over the next two weeks," Mr. Blanche said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times.

Representatives Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrats on the Oversight and Judiciary committees, said in a statement that they were "examining all legal options in the face of this violation of federal law."

Except for Mr. Massie, congressional Republicans were largely silent after the release of the files on Friday night. But Democrats were critical of the administration's handling of the documents, particularly a 119-page file entitled "Grand Jury NY" that was entirely redacted.

"Simply releasing a mountain of blacked out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law," Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, said in a statement.

Under the law, the Justice Department is required to send a report to the House and Senate judiciary committees detailing the records it withheld, a list of all "government officials and politically exposed persons" mentioned in the Epstein files and the legal reasoning behind redactions.

That report is due within 15 days after the release of the files.