The Hill March 9, 2026

The Hill: Release All Epstein Files Now to Restore Public Trust

Key Takeaways

▶ The Hill published an opinion piece calling for immediate release of millions of withheld Epstein documents from the Department of Justice.
▶ The opinion piece compared DOJ's document withholding to the Pentagon Papers scandal that damaged public trust during the Vietnam War.
▶ DOJ has released files in batches under the Epstein Transparency Act, but critics argue millions of documents remain withheld.

An opinion piece in The Hill has called for the immediate release of millions of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein that remain withheld by the U.S. Department of Justice, warning that the agency’s handling of the files is damaging public trust in the federal government.¹

The opinion piece compared the situation to the Pentagon Papers scandal, which caused lasting damage to Americans’ confidence in government during the Vietnam War era.¹ The author termed Epstein’s files the “Pedophile Papers” and said the millions of documents being kept from Congress and the American people are eroding trust in federal institutions.¹

The Pentagon Papers — leaked in 1971 — revealed the Department of Defense had systematically misled the public about the Vietnam War for years. The comparison suggests the current withholding of Epstein files represents a similar breach of public trust.

Documents Released in Batches

The Justice Department has been releasing Epstein-related files following passage of the Epstein Transparency Act, which was signed into law in late December with overwhelming bipartisan support.² The legislation requires federal agencies to declassify and release documents related to Epstein’s criminal activities and associates.

In early March, DOJ released nearly 50,000 files and announced plans to make additional documents public.³ The FBI began its formal review of Epstein-related records under the new law earlier this year.⁴

Despite these releases, transparency advocates and some lawmakers have argued the pace remains too slow and that millions of documents continue to be withheld from public view.

Attorney General Pam Bondi was subpoenaed to testify before Congress in early March about DOJ’s handling of the case.⁵ A USA Today opinion piece published in March called on Congress to act over what it characterized as DOJ obstruction of the files’ release.⁶

Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and died in his Manhattan jail cell one month later. His associate Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking minors and is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence. Epstein had previously been convicted in 2008 on state charges of soliciting a minor in Florida.