US justice department has released less than 1% of Epstein files, filing reveals

Federal law required majority of documents to be released by 19 December, but only 125,575 pages have been published

The Department of Justice has released less than 1% of the so-called Epstein files, a court filing has revealed, as Democrats step up criticism of the Trump administration's lawlessness" for keeping records under seal.

The department conceded that only 12,285 documents, totalling 125,575 pages, relating to the disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein have been published to date, despite a federal law requiring the vast majority to be released by 19 December.