image source, Reuters
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- Author, Ana Faguy
- Author title, BBCNews
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Reading time: 7 mins
The release of thousands of documents related to the abuses of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein disappointed those eagerly awaiting the files.
By law, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) had to release all documents by the end of last Friday. However, only a few were published, many with numerous censored parts.
Lawmakers who pushed for the release of the documents called the Justice Department’s actions disingenuous, and some legal experts say the censorship will only fuel existing conspiracy theories.
“We just want all evidence of these crimes to be known,” Liz Stein, one of Epstein’s victims, told the BBC.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, Stein said he believed the Justice Department was “flagrantly breaching the Epstein Files Transparency Act”, which requires all documents to be made public.
Survivors are very concerned about the possibility of “gradual disclosure of incomplete and contextless information,” she said.
Marina Lacerda, who was 14 when she was abused by Epstein, also told the BBC that some of the survivors “are still nervous and skeptical about the release of the remaining files.”
“We are very concerned that they continue to censor information in the same way that they do today. We are a little disappointed that they continue to delay the process and distract us with other issues.”
image source, US Department of Justice
The recently released information includes a photo of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s confidant and currently imprisoned, in front of Downing Street, the office and residence of the British Prime Minister.
It also contains a document alleging that Epstein introduced a 14-year-old girl to US President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence, as well as several pictures of former President Bill Clinton.
Other published photos show the interior of Epstein’s homes, his trips abroad and several celebrities: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and Peter Mandelson, a former British Labor Party politician and ambassador to the United States.
However, the fact that a person is mentioned or photographed in the archives does not mean that they have committed a crime.
Many of the people identified in the files or in previous publications related to Epstein have denied any wrongdoing.
Trump has always denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and has not been accused of any crime by his victims.
Clinton has also not been accused of a crime by victims of Epstein’s abuse and has denied knowledge of his sex crimes.
At least 15 of the released files were no longer available on the Justice Department’s website on Saturday.
According to BBC affiliate CBS in the US, one of the missing files showed a large number of framed photos on a desk. Among the photos were pictures of Bill Clinton and the Pope.
In an open drawer was a photo of Trump, Epstein and Maxwell.
Other missing files included photos of a room with what appeared to be a massage table, as well as nude photos and paintings.
It’s not clear why the files are no longer available.
On Saturday evening, the DOJ wrote in
The BBC has contacted the Ministry of Justice for comment.
image source, US Department of Justice
More than 1,200 victims
Assistant U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday in releasing the materials that the DOJ had identified more than 1,200 of Epstein’s victims or their relatives and that it had withheld material that could identify them.
Many of the documents are also heavily redacted.
The DOJ said it would comply with Congress’s request to release the documents under certain conditions.
Personally identifiable information about Epstein’s victims, material depicting child sexual abuse, material depicting physical abuse, any records that “could jeopardize an ongoing federal investigation” or any classified documents that should remain secret to protect “national defense or foreign policy” were redacted.
The DOJ said it “does not redact the names of any politicians” and added a quote it attributed to Todd Blanche: “The only redactions made to documents are, without exception, those required by law.”
“In accordance with applicable laws and regulations, we do not redact the names of individuals or politicians unless they are victims.”
image source, Reuters
The information is crossed out
John Day, a criminal defense lawyer, told the BBC he was surprised at the amount of information that had been redacted.
“This will only fuel conspiracy theories,” he said. “I don’t think anyone expected there would be so many redactions. It certainly raises questions about how diligently the Justice Department is implementing the law.”
Day also noted that the DOJ is required to provide Congress with a record of what was redacted within 15 days of the records being released.
“Unless you know what information is being censored, you don’t know what information is being hidden,” he said.
In a letter to the judges overseeing the Epstein and Maxwell cases, Jay Clayton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said: “For the privacy of victims, it is advisable to black out the faces of women in photographs featuring Epstein, even if it is not known whether all women are victims, because it is not possible for the agency to identify every person in a photograph.”
“This approach to photos could be viewed by some as excessive censorship,” Clayton added. But “the ministry believes that, given the limited time available, it should opt for censorship to protect victims.”
image source, US Department of Justice
Victim protection
Baroness Helena Kennedy, a human rights lawyer and Labor Party member of Britain’s House of Lords, said she had been told that the redacted portions of the documents were intended to protect victims.
“The authorities are always concerned about exposing people to further vilification from the public,” he told the BBC’s “Today” programme.
She said many Epstein survivors seemed “very interested” in releasing the material, but added that “they might not be as interested if they knew exactly what it contained.”
Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who led the push for the files’ release along with Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, said the release was “incomplete,” adding that he was considering options such as impeachment, contempt or referral to prosecutors.
“Our law requires them to declare censorship,” Khanna said. “There is no single explanation.”
Massie supported Khanna’s statement, posting on social media that Attorney General Pam Bondi and other Justice Department officials could be prosecuted by future Justice Departments for failing to comply with document requirements.
He said the release of the documents “flagrantly violates the spirit and letter of the law,” citing the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
After the release, the White House called the Trump administration the “most transparent in history,” adding that it had “done more for victims than Democrats.”
In an interview with ABC News, Blanche was asked whether all documents mentioning Trump in the so-called Epstein files will be released in the coming weeks.
“Assuming it’s in accordance with the law, yes,” Blanche replied. “There is no attempt to hide anything from the name of Donald J. Trump or the name of anyone else like Bill Clinton or Reid Hoffman.”
“For this reason, there is no attempt to hide or not hide information. We do not redact the names of famous men and women associated with Epstein.”
With additional reporting by Jaroslav Lukiv.
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