India, Dec. 19 -- The Justice Department is preparing to release "several hundred thousand" records today from the Jeffrey Epstein files, a top official said, ahead of a looming deadline to make the documents public under a new law, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, as reported by CBS News. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News that the Justice Department plans to make an initial batch of files available on Friday, with more documents to follow "over the next couple of weeks."

Over the past year, tens of thousands of pages of documents have been made public, largely by a House committee that issued subpoenas to the Justice Department and Epstein's estate. The records included emails and text messages revealing that Epstein...