The US government has published a huge tranche of documents from the "Epstein files" weeks after missing a legal deadline.
But the congressmen behind the law that forced the files' release say they want to see the uncensored files, criticising "a blanket approach to redactions" in some key documents.
US Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche said more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images were being released after a review of almost 6 million files was completed.
It is the first release of documents related to sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell since late last year, when thousands of files were published after Congress voted to force their release.
"Today's release marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people and compliance with the act," Mr Blanche said at a media conference.
The ABC is in the process of reviewing the files. Being named or pictured in the files does not imply wrongdoing or criminal activity.
An initial review uncovered emails from Epstein to former prince Andrew and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon.
Other emails show billionaire businessman Elon Musk and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick discussing visits to Epstein's private island.
The files also include an FBI email thread detailing unverified allegations made against Donald Trump.
The White House referred the ABC to a previous justice department statement, which said some documents contained "untrue and sensationalist claims" about the US president.
The new tranche of documents appears to be the final release, apart from some documents related to an investigation into Maxwell, which are subject to a court application.
Mr Blanche said the "department's obligations under the act will be completed" once paperwork is finalised, including a report to Congress.
'Hunger' for details
Mr Blanche said the Department of Justice (DOJ) had "erred on the side of over-collecting" when searching for documents for potential release, which is why not all of them would be published.
"The number of responsive pages is significantly smaller than the number of pages initially collected," he said.
But Democrats criticised the DOJ for withholding so many documents.
"They intend to withhold roughly 50 per cent of the Epstein files," the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Robert Garcia, said. "This is outrageous and incredibly concerning."
Democrat Ro Khanna and Republican Thomas Massie, the co-sponsors of the legislation that forced the department to release the files, requested access to the unredacted documents.
"We have seen a blanket approach to redactions in some areas, while in other cases, victim names were not redacted at all," they wrote in a letter to Mr Blanche.
Some survivors also criticised the "incomplete" release.
"The men who abused us remain hidden and protected," a joint statement from 19 women said.
They said the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of Epstein's most high-profile accusers, "reported many abusers connected to Epstein's network, yet the public still does not have the full truth" about his co-offenders.
Mr Blanche said files that were withheld included those containing victims' personal details, child abuse material, information that could jeopardise active investigations, and depictions of death and physical abuse.
Other files were not released because they were subject to legal privilege, he said.
"There is extensive redactions to images and videos," Mr Blanche said.
"To protect victims, we redacted every woman depicted in any image or video, with the exception of Ms Maxwell.
"We did not redact images of any men unless it was impossible to redact the woman without redacting the man."
He said there was "a hunger, or a thirst, for information that I do not think will be satisfied by the review of these documents and there's nothing I can do about that".
"There's this mantra out there that, 'oh, the Department of Justice is supposed to protect Donald J Trump' … that's not true, that was never the case."
Missed deadline
The DOJ had been given until December 19 to release the files in full with limited redactions permitted.
The Trump administration argued it was an impossible deadline given the need to review the millions of documents before publication.
However, thousand of files were published late last year, including court records, police reports, emails, voicemail messages, flight logs and photos of Epstein and many of his well-known associates, often pictured with young woman.
The DOJ said they also contained "untrue and sensationalist" claims about Mr Trump, but were released anyway to comply with the law.
Mr Trump had long resisted public pressure to release the files, arguing they were a Democratic Party "hoax" and branding some of his supporters "stupid" and "weaklings" for campaigning for their publication.
But he changed his position as members of Congress signalled they would vote for their release.
On Christmas Eve the DOJ said a million additional documents had been found and would further delay the files' release.
Mr Blanche said more than 500 lawyers and other professionals had reviewed the newly released files.
He said the department would submit a report to Congress, as required, listing records released and withheld, redactions made, and government officials or "politically exposed persons" named.
