There’s an old saying about sunlight being the best disinfectant. For years, certain corners of Washington seemed determined to keep the blinds drawn tight on one of the most disturbing scandals in modern American history. Documents languished in government vaults. Requests went unanswered. The powerful exhaled in relief as another news cycle passed without consequence.
On Friday, the Department of Justice released hundreds of thousands of pages related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation—the convicted sex offender who died in federal custody in 2019. For decades, Epstein moved freely among the elite, his crimes an open secret that somehow never quite resulted in the accountability his victims deserved. Previous administrations, after Epstein’s sweetheart plea deal in Florida, showed little appetite for transparency. The Obama years came and went. The Biden administration similarly declined to pull back the curtain.
Then came the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Passed with overwhelming bipartisan support last month, the legislation required the Justice Department to release all unclassified records within 30 days. President Trump signed it into law on November 19th, and his DOJ has now begun delivering.
The numbers alone are staggering. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed that investigators identified more than 1,200 victims and their families during the review process. Over twelve hundred people whose lives were shattered by one man and the network that enabled him.
From Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s letter to Congress:
Never in American history has a President or the Department of Justice been this transparent with the American people about such a sensitive law enforcement matter. Democrat administrations in the past have refused to provide full details of the Jeffrey Epstein saga. But President Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and FBI Director Patel are committed to providing full transparency consistent with the law.
Blanche was unequivocal on one point that matters greatly: “There are no redactions of famous people.” Politicians’ names are not being shielded. The only redactions protect victims’ identities as required by law.
And what did those unredacted files reveal? Photographs of former President Bill Clinton feature prominently—including one showing him in a hot tub beside a person whose face was blacked out. A DOJ spokesperson confirmed that redacted individual is a victim of Epstein’s abuse. Other images show Clinton with Epstein in cultural garb. Clinton’s spokesperson responded by accusing the Trump administration of “shielding themselves from what comes next.”
The irony here is almost too rich. Democrats have already launched their predictable chorus—it’s not enough, it’s too redacted, it doesn’t comply with the letter of the law. I’m sorry, but where exactly was this energy for the last decade? These are the same people whose administrations sat on this information for years, who showed zero urgency in exposing the truth, now suddenly concerned about the pace of disclosure.
But here’s what they conveniently won’t mention: the DOJ’s review found no credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals, nor did it uncover anything that could justify new investigations against uncharged parties. For all the breathless speculation about what these files might contain about Trump, the answer appears to be nothing actionable. Meanwhile, photograph after photograph shows Clinton in Epstein’s orbit.
Think about that for a moment. The victims waited decades—decades—for someone in power to take this seriously. Maria Farmer filed a complaint with the FBI in 1996. Twenty-three years before Epstein’s final arrest. The system didn’t just fail her; it looked the other way while hundreds more were victimized. At least now, someone’s finally pulling back the curtain. Whether Washington’s elite like what the sunlight reveals? That’s their problem now.
Sources: Fox News, CBS News, CNN
