Phoenix: If the Epstein files were supposed to be a bombshell, it was a bomb that failed to detonate – at least, not in the expected way.

The US Department of Justice began on Saturday (AEDT) to release thousands of documents relating to its investigations into convicted sex offender and his girlfriend/accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

Jeffrey Epstein contemplates a cake in the shape of women’s breasts in a newly released photograph.Credit: US Department of Justice

But rather than a smoking gun that would embarrass or incriminate Epstein’s old friend Donald Trump, the day ended with Democrats threatening to impeach or prosecute Attorney-General Pam Bondi and her underlings for failing to deliver the expected goods.

The trove of documents was light on new material. There were many photographs – especially of former Democratic president Bill Clinton hanging out with Epstein back in the day – but not a lot of the material that Epstein’s victims and their allies were hoping for.

What people really wanted to see were grand jury transcripts, internal FBI memos and documents that might identify co-conspirators who aided or took part in the abuse of girls.

Such documents were rare, and when they appeared, they were mostly or wholly redacted. One file consisted of 100 pages that were all fully blacked out. So were the faces of many women in the photographs, other........

© The Sydney Morning Herald