DOJ posts thousands of Epstein documents to partially comply with law

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(The Center Square) – The Department of Justice has posted thousands of court recordsand other documents from the Epstein files online in a searchable and downloadable format in response to a mandate from Congress demanding the files’ public release.

"In view of the Congressional deadline, all reasonable efforts have been made to review and redact personal information pertaining to victims, other private individuals, and protect sensitive materials from disclosure," the Justice Department website reads. 

The released documents contained court records from 51 court proceedings against convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. The Justice Department said it included its own redactions in addition to information already redacted from the document. 

"The redaction of victim names and other identifying information has been added by the Department prior to this production, as indicated by markings that read 'DOJ Redaction,'" the DOJ's website reads. 

Though a significant cache, it still represents only a fraction of the total files and part of what the department was required to deliver. 

After months of back-and-forth with the administration, Congress passed a law with near unanimous support mandating the files' full public release by Friday.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., one of the bill’s sponsors, warned that anyone causing the department not to comply with the law could be subject to prosecution – whether that’s Attorney General Pam Bondi or someone else.

“Anyone who tampers with these documents or conceals documents or engages in excessive redaction will be prosecuted because of obstruction of justice, we will prosecute individuals regardless of whether they're the attorney general or a career or political appointee,” Khanna said in a video posted to X ahead of the release.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News that the reason for the delay is redacting information that could disclose victims’ identity.

“The most important thing … is that we protect victims,” Blanche said. “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 Epstein Files Transparency Act does allow for redactions or the withholding of records that contain identifiable information on victims, images of child sexual abuse or the “death, physical abuse, or injury of any person.” Officials can also withhold any information that would jeopardize an ongoing federal investigation or national security.

However, the law requires a report from the department by Jan. 3 summarizing the files’ release, including which documents were withheld or redacted and why, as well as the legal basis for doing so. The report must also include “a list of all government officials and politically exposed persons named or referenced in the released materials” and names cannot be protected on “the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”

Blanche said he expects “several hundred thousand more” documents will be released in the coming weeks. Khanna told CBS News that the department must provide a “clear timeline for the full release” on Friday, after Blanche said not all documents would be released that day.

Epstein died in jail by suicide awaiting trial in 2019. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence.