Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News on Thursday evening that the Epstein files "should not be a part of anything going forward" at the Department of Justice. The problem: roughly half the files haven't been released yet.
Blanche made the remarks during an interview with Jesse Watters, where he defended fired Attorney General Pam Bondi and claimed the DOJ has fulfilled its obligations under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Lawmakers from both parties disagree, and they aren't being quiet about it.
According to The Hill, Watters asked Blanche whether he'd agree that the files were "not handled well." Blanche pivoted to defending Bondi, saying her removal by President Trump had nothing to do with the Epstein investigation. Then he declared the matter essentially closed:
"And so I think that to the extent that the Epstein files was a part of the past year of this Justice Department, it should not be a part of anything going forward."
Blanche also claimed the DOJ "has now released all the files with respect to the Epstein saga" and noted that he and Bondi appeared before Congress voluntarily a couple of weeks ago to answer questions. He added that lawmakers could view unredacted files at DOJ offices.
There's a factual problem with the "released all the files" claim. The DOJ itself initially said there were roughly 6 million pages of records. It has released about 3 million. The department says it withheld duplicates and other records, but half of a 6-million-page archive is a lot of duplicates.
This is one of those rare issues where a Republican from Kentucky and a Democrat from California sound nearly identical.
Rep. Thomas Massie wasted no time. As soon as Blanche's appointment was announced, the Kentucky Republican posted on X:
"Congratulations AG Blanche. Now you have 30 days to release the rest of the files before becoming criminally liable for failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act."
Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, was blunter. He called Blanche's claim a "lie," noted that the committee has issued a subpoena for the files, and warned that withholding them is illegal:
"Blanche may think it's over, but we are just getting started."
Garcia put the number at about 50% released. That tracks with the DOJ's own figures.
The volume question matters, but the specific records being withheld matter more. The DOJ has been accused of withholding records related to President Trump, including from a woman who spoke to the FBI four times, alleging that the president committed acts against her when she was a minor. That accusation prompted the department to go back and release additional files it said were "withheld in error."
Even after that correction, reporters examining page numbers found that approximately 30 pages from that particular record are still missing. "Withheld in error" is a phrase that does a lot of heavy lifting when pages keep turning up absent.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act exists because Congress recognized the public interest in full disclosure of these records. President Trump signed it into law. The statute mandates release. A congressional subpoena reinforces that mandate. Blanche declaring the matter closed doesn't change what the law requires.
Nobody benefits from a half-released archive. Partial disclosure is worse than no disclosure in some ways because it lets every faction cherry-pick what's available while speculating about what's missing. The conspiracy theories don't die when 50% of the files sit in a DOJ vault. They multiply.
The Epstein saga involves a convicted sex offender whose network touched powerful people across politics, finance, and media. The public wants accountability, not managed releases and bureaucratic excuses about duplicates. Every page withheld feeds the suspicion that someone, somewhere, is being protected.
Massie's warning about criminal liability under the transparency act isn't political theater. It's a plain reading of a law the president himself signed. If the DOJ has legitimate reasons for withholding specific records, it should articulate those reasons publicly and specifically, not wave the whole thing away as yesterday's news.
Blanche is new to the job. He has an opportunity to demonstrate that the DOJ will comply fully and transparently with the law. Telling the country to move on before the work is finished is not the way to start.
Three million pages remain. The clock is running.