The Epstein Files Release Is a Disaster

Now that the Department of Justice is releasing hundreds of thousands of long-awaited records from its investigation into deceased sex trafficker and billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein, the public finally has a chance to see the full extent of his damning web of connections in the highest echelons of power for themselves.

Or maybe not.

After finally going live on Friday, the Justice Department portal that allows you to search the “full Epstein library” appears to be either broken, or at least not fully up to speed, because entering obviously relevant search terms are turning up zilch.

Enter “Trump,” for example, and there will be “no results found.” Search “Epstein,” and still nada. The issue was flagged by Ben Collins of The Onion notoriety, and other users took notice.

In all, it’s not a good look for the Trump administration, which has — surprise — underdelivered on the president’s promise to expose Epstein’s dealings. A first batch of Epstein files released shortly after he took office offered little that the public didn’t already know. It ignited an uproar in July, when the DoJ said it wouldn’t release anymore files to the public, before backtracking in the face of overwhelmingly negative public reception.

This waffling on the Epstein issue may or may not have something to do with the fact that Trump seems to have had pretty close ties to Epstein. Trump has repeatedly played down his past friendship with the deceased billionaire, though his name has come up repeatedly in a batch of Epstein’s emails released by the House Oversight Committee last month. The committee also released a photo of what appears to be a signed letter Trump wrote to Epstein for his 50th birthday, featuring a crude sketch of a woman’s torso and a memorable sendoff hoping that “may every day be another wonderful secret.”

It’s worth mentioning at this point that not all of the documents have been released yet, in spite of a hard deadline set by Congress for Friday. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said that some materials were being withheld and cited ongoing investigations, per the New York Times, and that more that would be released over the coming weeks. We’ll have to wait, then, until either more documents are released or the DOJ website starts working, to see if there’s anything meaningfully new.

More on Epstein: New Photos Show That Epstein’s Island Contained the Creepiest Dentist’s Facility We’ve Ever Seen