Welcome to The Logoff: The “Epstein files” are here.
On Friday afternoon, shortly before a congressionally mandated deadline, Trump’s Justice Department began releasing materials from its two investigations into deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein. Despite a law passed last month requiring the release of the full files by December 19 (with a few exceptions), it’s not everything: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday that more files would be released in the coming weeks.
For now, however, according to DOJ, several hundred thousand documents have been released, including grand jury materials, photographs, and other evidence. These are investigative materials that would normally never be made public, but lawmakers concluded there was good reason to do so in this case.
As reporters have a chance to sort through the files, Vox will be there to explain the biggest news. For now, however, I recommend my colleague Andrew Prokop’s guide to consuming the Epstein files responsibly as they begin to circulate. He writes that there are a lot of big questions about Epstein that the files could, conceivably, help answer; it’s best to focus on those and steer clear of the feeding frenzies that are sure to spring up around various viral, but dubious, tidbits.
I also spoke with Andrew earlier this week about what you need to know ahead of the files being released; you can read that conversation here.
