Department of Justice officials are facing threats of legal action after the department missed the Epstein Files Transparency Act’s stated deadline to publish all its documents related to Jeffrey Epstein – but the law may lean in the DOJ’s favor.

DOJ officials have continued to review and upload the files more than a week after the congressionally mandated Dec. 19 due date, spurring Democrats and some Republicans to call for a range of consequences, from contempt to civil litigation. The DOJ is, however, defending the drawn-out release process, suggesting that rushing to publish piles of unexamined material would also flout the law.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a recent interview on ‘Meet the Press’ there was ‘well-settled law’ that supported the DOJ missing the transparency bill’s deadline because of a need to meet other legal requirements in the bill, like redacting victim-identifying information.

The bill required the DOJ to withhold information about potential victims and material that could jeopardize open investigations or litigation. Officials could also leave out information ‘in the interest of national defense or foreign policy,’ the bill said, while keeping visible any details that could embarrass politically connected people.

Last week, the DOJ revealed that two of its components, the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York, had just gathered and submitted more than 1 million additional pages of potentially responsive documents related to Epstein’s and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking cases for review.

The ‘mass volume of material’ could ‘take a few more weeks’ to sift through, the DOJ said in a statement on social media, adding that the department would ‘continue to fully comply with federal law and President Trump’s direction to release the files.’ 

The DOJ’s concerns about page volume and redaction requirements echo those frequently raised in similar litigation surrounding compliance with Freedom of Information Act requests, where courts have stepped in to balance competing interests of parties in the cases rather than attempting to force compliance on an unrealistic timetable.

The conservative legal watchdog Judicial Watch has seen mixed success over the years in bringing FOIA lawsuits, showcasing the court’s role in mediating such disputes.

Judicial Watch brought several lawsuits against the government over Hillary Clinton’s private email server scandal, leading a federal judge at one point to allow the conservative watchdog to move forward with questioning Clinton aides as part of a discovery process as it sought records on the matter. The decision was later reversed at the appellate court level.

In a separate case, the appellate court sided with Judicial Watch by reversing a lower court ruling as part of a longstanding legal battle the watchdog waged with the DOJ over obtaining Acting Attorney General Sally Yates’ emails. The D.C. Circuit Court found that the DOJ could not withhold email attachments from Yates’ account and ordered further review on the matter.

In the current controversy over the Epstein files, lawmakers are pressuring the DOJ by threatening a combination of political and legal remedies over the 30-day deadline and over what they view as excessive redactions. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed to bring a resolution up for a vote when the Senate returns from the holidays that would direct the Senate to initiate a lawsuit against the DOJ for failing to comply with the transparency act’s requirements.

‘The law Congress passed is crystal clear: release the Epstein files in full, so Americans can see the truth,’ Schumer said. ‘Instead, the Trump Department of Justice dumped redactions and withheld the evidence — that breaks the law.’

Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who spearheaded the transparency bill, warned that they plan to pursue contempt proceedings against Attorney General Pam Bondi in light of the DOJ missing the deadline and making perceived over-redactions.

A group of mostly Democratic senators also called on the DOJ inspector general to investigate the department’s compliance with the law.

The DOJ has maintained that releasing unreviewed documents would violate the law, saying last week that it had ‘lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions.’

Outgoing Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene indicated to the New York Times Magazine that President Donald Trump, lacks ‘faith’ and does not reciprocate loyalty. 

She also said that she disapproves of ‘MAGA Mar-a-Lago sexualization,’ and indicated that she expects the U.S. to engage in ‘more war’ as the president seeks to maintain his grip on power.

Greene, a once ardent Trump supporter who had a dramatic falling out with the GOP juggernaut this year, is dishing out scathing criticism of the president she once lauded.

Here are some takeaways from her comments reported by the New York Times Magazine:

Greene says Trump ‘does not have any faith’

Earlier this year, during remarks at the memorial service for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Trump said of Kirk, ‘He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent. And I don’t want the best for them.’

By contrast, Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk announced that she forgave the suspected killer.

 ‘It just shows where his heart is. And that’s the difference, with her having a sincere Christian faith, and proves that he does not have any faith,’ Greene opined, according to the Times.

Greene on ‘MAGA Mar-a-Lago sexualization’

Greene objected to what she referred to as ‘sexualization’ among MAGA women.

‘I never liked the MAGA Mar-a-Lago sexualization. I believe how women in leadership present themselves sends a message to younger women,’ she noted, according to the Times. 

‘I have two daughters, and I’ve always been uncomfortable with how those women puff up their lips and enlarge their breasts. I’ve never spoken about it publicly, but I’ve been planning to,’ she noted.

Greene says Trump lacks loyalty

The New York Times Magazine reported that Greene said regarding loyalty and Trump, that it is ‘a one-way street — and it ends like that whenever it suits him.’

Last month, after President Donald Trump issued posts lambasting Greene on Truth Social, the congresswoman announced that she would resign from office, noting that her last day would be January 5.

Greene suggests ‘more war’ on the horizon

Greene suggested that the U.S. is headed for ‘more war.’

‘In my opinion,’ Greene opined, according to the outlet, ‘we’re going to see more war. Because what do you do when you really lose power, when you become a lame duck? How do you cling to power? You go to war.’

Greene indicates House Speaker Mike Johnson is following orders from the White House

Greene suggested that House Speaker Mike Johnson is just taking orders from the White House.

‘I want you to know that Johnson is not our speaker,’ Greene asserted, according to the Times. ‘He is not our leader. And in the legislative branch — a totally separate body of government — he is literally 100 percent under direct orders from the White House. And many, many Republicans are so furious about that, but they’re cowards.’

White House responds

The White House pushed back against Greene’s comments about Johnson, asserting to Fox News Digital, ‘We have a very collaborative relationship with Speaker Johnson just like we do with Leader Thune, which is why we’ve had so much success this year.’

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle accused Greene of ‘petty bitterness.’

‘President Trump remains the undisputed leader of the greatest and fastest growing political movement in American history — the MAGA movement. On the other hand, Congresswoman Greene is quitting on her constituents in the middle of her term and abandoning the consequential fight we’re in — we don’t have time for her petty bitterness,’ Ingle noted in a statement. 

Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams argued that the Biden administration’s Justice Department engaged in ‘lawfare’ against the former president’s political opponents, including himself on corruption allegations and President Donald Trump over issues such as mishandling classified documents.

‘I think what we have witnessed under President Biden’s Justice Department, Americans should never have to live through that again,’ Adams said on Monday during an appearance on Fox News’ ‘The Story.’

‘You saw everyday Americans who fought for the education of their children being put on watch lists, I think that you saw what happened with Charlie Kirk, when you saw the raiding of President Trump’s home. Debates should have happened … I think that you’re seeing the clear indication that the Justice Department under the previous administration used lawfare to go after those who disagree with them,’ he added.

Asked if he felt as angry about the alleged weaponization of the DOJ before he was targeted, Adams said ‘personal experience allows us to see firsthand the abuse.’

‘I spent my entire life, not only as a police officer, but as a state senator and borough president fighting against injustices,’ Adams said. ‘There’s a real history, a rich history, of me standing up and fighting what the criminal justice system should never be. Yes, that anger was there long before I was a target, but what I saw happen while I was the mayor is really deplorable, and we saw what happened to President Trump’s family as well.’

‘If you were to go back and look at my life story on criminal justice reform and not abuse, it goes back to being a young man who was abused at the hands of law enforcement,’ he continued. ‘And so I’ve always been a clear voice, and it really personalized it of what I was fighting for years because I experienced the lawfare myself.’

Adams was indicted in September 2024 on federal corruption charges related to bribery, wire fraud and accepting illegal foreign campaign contributions from Turkish officials and businessmen. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The mayor has insisted that the case was politically motivated over his criticism of how the Biden administration handled illegal immigration, but prosecutors in the Southern District of New York said in court filings that the investigation began in September 2021, before Adams’ public criticism of the government’s immigration policies or his mayoral election win.

The charges were dropped earlier this year at the request of the Trump administration.

Adams is set to leave office at the turn of the new year, when Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will be sworn in.

The dispute over occupied territories in Ukraine continues to be a sticking point amid negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow as President Donald Trump seeks to help bring an end to the war between the neighboring countries. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Fox News’ Bret Baier that a peace deal with Moscow could be close following his Sunday meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

‘Even with one question today, we’ve been very close,’ Zelenskyy told Baier on ‘Special Report.’ ‘I think we have a problem with one question: It’s about territories.’

Key issues about territory remain unresolved in talks that have taken place over months. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently said that the West must acknowledge the fact that Russia holds the advantage on the battlefield.

Zelenskyy has been reluctant to cede territory held by Russian forces since the war began in 2022 over to Moscow. 

Zelenskyy has suggested that Ukraine might be open to withdrawing from the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which Russia wants to annex, only if Ukrainian voters give their approval in a referendum. 

‘I think the compromise, if we do a free economic zone that we have, and we have to move some kilometers back. It means that Russia has to make minor steps some kilometers back,’ Zelenskyy said. ‘This free economic zone will have specific rules. Something like this referendum is the way how to accept it or not accept it.’

Putin doesn’t want peace, Zelenskyy said, despite the mounting death toll for Russian forces. 

‘I don’t trust Putin. He doesn’t want success for Ukraine,’ Zelenskyy said. ‘I believe he can say such words to President Trump… but it’s not true really.’

Following his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy said they were 90% agreed on a draft 20-point plan, despite Moscow showing no signs of budging on its territorial demands. 

The meeting came after Trump spoke with Putin over the phone where they both agreed that a deal must be reached to end Europe’s longest war in 80 years. 

It also came a day after Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv a day earlier. Moscow also claimed that Putin’s home in the Novgorod region was the target of a Ukrainian drone attack overnight, which Ukraine denies.