Hold your breath: will the Epstein files be explosive or a damp squib?

The U.S. Justice Department faces a critical December 19 deadline to publish the Epstein Files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law on November 19, 2025. The release of records, photographs, emails and evidence of sex-trafficking, paedophilia and sex arranged with teenagers by Jeffrey Epstein by Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is eagerly awaited. Yet, the law offers vague guidelines on the timing, format and scope of disclosures, with provisions allowing redactions or withholding of sensitive material.

The release will help reveal Epstein’s connections with influential figures, said lawmakers to justify the release.

Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, sparking widespread suspicion about the full extent of his connections. Since then, some images and documents have leaked publicly, implicating well-known personalities such as Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and Prince Andrew. However, no conclusive evidence linking them to trafficking offenses has surfaced.

On 18 December, a day before the deadline, members of the US House Oversight and Accountability Committee also released several sets of images in addition to the images released earlier. On 3 December, Democrat lawmakers published photographs taken from Epstein's private island, showing various rooms and items found on the property. Another batch of 89 images was released on 12 December, including photographs of sex toys and bondage equipment. On 18 December, additional images released featured foreign passports with identifying details removed and excerpts from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita written on parts of a woman's body.

The newly released photos are among the more than 95,000 images that the House Oversight Committee received from the Epstein estate after serving it with a warrant. The images released on 18 December included several seemingly innocuous images of Epstein with linguist Noam Chomsky on a private jet and Epstein cooking with Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, an Emirati businessman.

They also show Microsoft founder and philanthropist billionaire Bill Gates with a woman with her face redacted, and images from a 2011 dinner of high profile individuals and wealthy philanthropists hosted by a nonprofit group. There is no indication of any wrongdoing.

While no photograph of any Indian politician, businessman or celebrity with Epstein has emerged so far, trails of an email exchange between Epstein and business tycoon Anil Ambani has surfaced on social media. Similarly, references to a union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, a former Indian diplomat who was India’s permanent representative to the United Nations from 2009 and 2013, and his alleged proximity with Epstein have been alleged in unverified posts. No wrongdoing by them, has, however, been alleged.

As the world waits with bated breath, there is the real possibility of the hype ending in a damp squib. President Trump, who has publicly denied close relations with Epstein, despite evidence to the contrary, is widely expected to have ensured that incriminating evidence or images involving him and people close to him are held back on the pretext of a fresh investigation.