Trump Declares 'There's No Way I Can Take Questions' and Avoids Inquiries About Epstein During Press Conference... as the DOJ Releases Late Pedo's Files

Donald Trump has refused to answer any questions about the Epstein files as the Justice Department has begun to release them, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

While announcing his administration has made deals with several pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, the president made it clear he wasn't interested in addressing the elephant in the room – the release of documents related to the investigation of his late former close friend and convicted pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump, 79, told reporters that questions on the pressing topic would "soil" his announcement.

"I think that is a very big statement, and what happened here is the biggest statement of all, because no one thought anything like this was possible," Trump told reporters at the White House. "And I think based on that, I won't even take questions today because there's no way I can take questions that are anywhere comparable to what you just witnessed."

The president's rambling continued as he claimed his refusal to take question was solely based on not wanting to distract from "such a big announcement" on prescription drug costs.

"And I prefer not talking and asking questions, only for the reason that this is such a big announcement – meaning what these people have said and what the other four companies are going to say, which is exactly the same thing – that I really don't want to soil it up by asking questions, even questions that are very fair questions, that I'd love to answer," Trump continued. "So, I think we have to just stop right here."

"But I don’t want to be asking questions having to do with anything else," the president added.

The timing of Trump's refusal was notable, as the Justice Department was preparing to release its first batch of documents related to the Epstein investigation, most of which were heavily redacted.

After months of mounting public pressure calling for the full release of the files, Congress passed the Epstein Transparency Act with bipartisan support. The bill required the government to publish "all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in DOJ's possession that relate to the investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein."

Trump signed the Epstein Transparency Act into law on November 18, and in doing so, the clock started ticking on the 30-day deadline imposed by Congress for the Department of Justice to release the materials.

Ahead of the Friday, December 18, deadline, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trump's personal defense lawyer, announced the Justice Department would not be able to release all the documents by the deadline.

During an appearance on Fox News, Blanche reportedly said the DOJ would publish "several hundred thousand" documents by December 18, but the complete release would take several more weeks.

Blanche claimed the delay was due to redactions needed to protect victims.

"What we're doing is we are looking at every single piece of paper that we are going to produce, making sure that every victim, their name, their identity, their story, to the extent it needs to be protected, is completely protected," the deputy attorney general explained. "And so I expect that we're going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks."