U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s administration is facing a Friday deadline to release decades of government secrets on notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the latest milestone in the long-running effort to uncover the full extent of his network.

Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, Trump¡¯s Department of Justice must release by Dec. 19 its vast cache of records on the late financier¡¯s sex-trafficking empire, which is alleged to have entangled underage girls and brushed against the world¡¯s elite.

For the public, the release offers the clearest opportunity yet to lift the veil on one of the century¡¯s most enduring scandals ¡ª although transparency advocates caution that key details may still be withheld under government claims of legal constraint.