US Justice Dept to release 'several hundred thousand' documents from Epstein files

It is anticipated that the documents will include substantial redactions, with prosecutors having wide latitude to withhold names, intelligence and legally sensitive material.

Blanche, in an interview with "Fox and Friends," also said that "as of today, there's no new charges coming, but we are investigating."

Friday is the deadline for the long-awaited release of the Epstein files, whose publication was mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed by Congress last month and signed into law by President Donald Trump, a one-time close friend of Epstein.

"I expect that we're going to release several hundred thousand documents today," Blanche said. "And those documents will come in all different forms, photographs and other materials associated with all of the investigations into Mr Epstein.

"So today, several hundred thousand and then over the next couple of weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more," Blanche said.

The Justice Department was taking pains to ensure that the identities of Epstein's hundreds of victims were redacted from the records, the deputy attorney general said.

"We are looking at every single piece of paper that we are going to produce, making sure that every victim, their name, their identity, their story, to the extent it needs to be protected, is completely protected," he said.

For the public and for survivors, the publication marks the clearest opportunity yet to shed light on a scandal that continues to convulse America.

Epstein, a successful financier, cultivated rich and powerful friends, and frequently hosted them at his lavish Caribbean home.

He was convicted in Florida in 2008 on two sex crime counts, including solicitation of prostitution with a minor.

He served about a year in detention with unusually lenient conditions and avoided more serious charges until 2019, when he was arrested in New York and charged with sex trafficking of minors.

He died in pre-trial detention the same year and the death was ruled to be a suicide.