In this special Afternoon Live, I go searching—live and in real time—for the long-promised Epstein files released by the Department of Justice under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. What follows is not a bombshell revelation, but something arguably more disturbing: confusion, obfuscation, and what increasingly looks like a deliberate effort to comply with the letter of the law while violating its spirit.
As cable news reports that “thousands of documents” have been released, I dig into the DOJ’s public database myself—clicking through PDFs, court filings, images, and redacted records. What emerges is a familiar pattern. Entire documents blacked out. Search tools that don’t work. Files that appear to consist largely of material that has been publicly available for years. Grand jury records rendered meaningless through total redaction. Promised volumes of data that simply don’t add up.
Alongside live MSNBC coverage and analysis from legal experts and members of Congress, the picture becomes clearer: this release raises more questions than it answers. Where are the emails? The interview memos? The substantive investigative records? And why does the DOJ appear to be slow-walking further disclosures without explanation?
This live is about what’s missing, not just what’s released—and why that absence matters for accountability, transparency, and the survivors still waiting for the truth.
