President Trump on Tuesday said that it\u2019s \u201creally time\u201d for the country to move on from Jeffrey Epstein following the release of nearly 3 million more documents by the Justice Department late last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s really time for the country to get on to something else,\u201d Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump noted that he had not read the newly released files, which include thousands of photos of the disgraced financier\u2019s properties, emails, flight logs, and tips submitted to the FBI through the National Threat Operations Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The files contain mentions of several high-profile individuals, including Trump, former President Clinton, billionaire Elon Musk and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
None have been accused of any criminal wrongdoing, but their appearance in the files drew fresh scrutiny of their relationships with the convicted sex offender. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump on Tuesday dismissed Musk\u2019s and Lutnick\u2019s names in the files, saying \u201cI\u2019m sure they\u2019re fine.\u201d He doubled down on assertions that the latest batch absolves him, claiming a \u201cconspiracy\u201d had been waged against him, as perpetuated by \u201cEpstein and other people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s time now for the country to maybe get onto something else like health care,\u201d Trump repeated. \u201cSomething that people care about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Epstein files controversy has plagued Trump throughout his second term, with large swaths of Democrats and Republicans criticizing the administration for its handling of the investigation into Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s Justice Department initially resisted pressure to publicize the Epstein files, but in a stunning reversal last November, the president urged Republicans to support a bill mandating their release. Trump quickly signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law following its passage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday his department\u2019s review of the files had been completed in accordance with the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis review is over,\u201d Blanche said on ABC\u2019s \u201cThis Week.\u201d \u201cI mean we reviewed over 6 million pieces of paper, thousands of videos, thousands \u2014 tens of thousands of images \u2026 which is what the statute required us to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who helped author the law, claimed Sunday that the department had not fully complied with it. He and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) are pushing for access to the full, unredacted files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve released, at best, half the documents. But even those shock the conscience of this country. I mean, you have some of the most wealthy individuals, tech leaders, finance leaders, politicians, all implicated in some way, having emails about wanting to go to Epstein\u2019s island, knowing that Epstein was a pedophile,\u201d Khanna said during an appearance on NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The law required redactions of victims\u2019 identities and information that could jeopardize a federal investigation, but not redactions in the name of potential \u201cembarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Justice Department said in a letter on Monday that it had taken down \u201cseveral thousands of documents and media that may have inadvertently included victim-identifying information,\u201d citing \u201ctechnical or human error\u201d as reasoning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n