<p>The US Justice Department on Friday published a new cache of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Trump administration's latest effort to comply with a law passed in November that required the department to release all Epstein-related records by December 19, 2025.</p><p><em>Reuters</em> is in the process of reviewing the files.</p>.ICE appears to shift gears in Minnesota amid mixed messaging from Donald Trump.<p>The department had said at year's end that it still had more than five million pages to review and needed to re-assign hundreds of lawyers to do so, drawing criticism from some members of Congress that the administration's slow pace had violated the law.</p><p>President <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>, who was friends with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s before they had a falling out years before Epstein's first conviction, had spent months resisting any release until both Democrats and Republicans in Congress advanced the law over his objections.</p><p>The law permitted some redactions, including to protect victims and preserve ongoing investigations. But the files released thus far have been heavily redacted, in some cases entirely so, frustrating lawmakers.</p><p>Trump has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and he has denied any knowledge of Epstein's crimes.</p><p>Epstein, a New York financier, was found hanged in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. While his death was ruled a suicide, it has engendered years of conspiracy theories, some of which Trump himself boosted to his own supporters during his 2024 presidential campaign.</p><p>The Epstein scandal has become a persistent political problem for Trump, who is already facing sagging approval ratings on a range of issues, including his handling of the economy and his immigration crackdown. </p>
<p>The US Justice Department on Friday published a new cache of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Trump administration's latest effort to comply with a law passed in November that required the department to release all Epstein-related records by December 19, 2025.</p><p><em>Reuters</em> is in the process of reviewing the files.</p>.ICE appears to shift gears in Minnesota amid mixed messaging from Donald Trump.<p>The department had said at year's end that it still had more than five million pages to review and needed to re-assign hundreds of lawyers to do so, drawing criticism from some members of Congress that the administration's slow pace had violated the law.</p><p>President <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>, who was friends with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s before they had a falling out years before Epstein's first conviction, had spent months resisting any release until both Democrats and Republicans in Congress advanced the law over his objections.</p><p>The law permitted some redactions, including to protect victims and preserve ongoing investigations. But the files released thus far have been heavily redacted, in some cases entirely so, frustrating lawmakers.</p><p>Trump has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and he has denied any knowledge of Epstein's crimes.</p><p>Epstein, a New York financier, was found hanged in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. While his death was ruled a suicide, it has engendered years of conspiracy theories, some of which Trump himself boosted to his own supporters during his 2024 presidential campaign.</p><p>The Epstein scandal has become a persistent political problem for Trump, who is already facing sagging approval ratings on a range of issues, including his handling of the economy and his immigration crackdown. </p>