The Justice Department hit pause today on a promise many Americans expected to see kept.

Last month, President Donald Trump signed a law that ordered the full release of the government’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation files within 30 days. That clock ran out on December 19. However, the DOJ now says it will not publish everything by the deadline.

Instead, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox & Friends that the department plans to release several hundred thousand pages today. Then, he expects more pages to follow over the next few weeks.

Blanche framed the delay as a careful, page-by-page process. He said the DOJ must protect victims and avoid releasing materials that could reveal identities. He also pointed to limits that let the department withhold classified records and anything that includes illegal images or other graphic content.

Meanwhile, lawmakers kept the pressure on. The House Oversight Committee released new batches of photos tied to Epstein’s estate. Rep. Robert Garcia urged the DOJ to release the files immediately. Rep. Ro Khanna, who sponsored the transparency bill, called for a clear timeline and meaningful documents, not pages smothered in heavy redactions.

Even so, the stakes stay simple. Survivors deserve care and privacy. The public deserves answers. And the DOJ now needs to show exactly what comes next.