Justice Department says it’s uncovered more than a million more Epstein documents
Federal prosecutors in New York and the FBI have “uncovered” over 1 million additional documents related to investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday, five days after last Friday’s deadline to turn over all of its Epstein-related files.
The announcement portends a long, drawn-out process as the Justice Department seeks to comply with a new law passed by Congress demanding the release the totatlity of the federal government’s investigative files into the late-sex trafficker.
“We have lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims, and we will release the documents as soon as possible,” the Justice Department wrote on social media. “Due to the mass volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks.”
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed by Donald Trump last month after his initial opposition, required the Justice Department turn over all of its Epstein files by Dec. 19. Instead, the Department has been releasing documents in batches over the past five days, oftentimes with heavy redactions above and beyond the provisions of the law, which permits redactions to protect victim information.
The lawmakers who sponsored the bill sharply criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi after the announcement that a massive trove of documents had yet to be made public. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna suggested his plan to bring contempt charges against Bondi spurred the new revelation.
“After we said we are bringing contempt, the DOJ is now finding millions more documents to release,” Khanna said on social media Wednesday, demanding the release of FBI documents memorializing interviews. “The need to release the 302 FBI statements & the emails on Epstein’s computer.”
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie also took aim at Bondi after the announcement, posting a clip of her from July clarifying a comment she made about an Epstein list being on her desk. Bondi said in the video that she was referring to the government’s investigative file. The Justice Department announced that month that it did not have a client list and would not be releasing any future documents related to Epstein.
“So what you’re saying is the files were never on [Pam Bondi’s] desk like she claimed in this video?” Massie asked Wednesday afternoon.
The files that have been released so far revealed that New York prosecutors intended to interview at least 10 potential co-conspirators in 2019, but the Justice Department removed most of these individuals’ names. They also make multiple mentions of Donald Trump, including that the president was on more flights with Epstein in the 1990s than the Justice Department had initially thought. Trump has denied ever riding on Epstein’s plane.
Documents released this week also showed that Epstein’s team of high-powered lawyers continued to try to exert influence on federal prosecutors on Epstein’s behalf even after his sweetheart deal was finalized.
As the Miami Herald documented in its 2018 ‘Perversion of Justice’ investigation, Epstein reached a lenient deal with federal prosecutors in South Florida in 2007 that allowed him to plead guilty to two state prostitution charges, one involving a minor, and serve 13 months in the Palm Beach County Jail. Epstein was allowed to leave jail regularly to work from a nearby office space where, according to lawsuits, he allegedly continued to abuse girls.
Epstein’s victims — believed by the Justice Department to number roughly 1,000 women — have long sought more accountability for Epstein’s powerful friends and accomplices, and greater transparency from a department that kept them in the dark about Epstein’s 2007 plea deal.
Miami Herald reporters Julie K. Brown, Ben Wieder and Claire Healy contributed to this report.
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