Featured Image Credit: Department of Justice
Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, Crime, US News, Politics
Lucy Devine
Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, Crime, US News, Politics
On Friday (December 19), around 300,000 files related to Jeffrey Epstein were released by the Department of Justice.
The files consisted of photos, videos, and other documents, including a handwritten letter that warned Epstein to 'watch out'.
Appearing in the new files were the likes of Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, and Mick Jagger; however, it's important to note that being in the files doesn't indicate any wrongdoing.
Despite the release of hundreds of thousands of files, there has been some controversy surrounding the latest drop, after the Department of Justice explained that it would not be able to fulfil the request to release all the files. It's expected that more files will be released in the coming weeks, however.
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In addition, some have been left confused about redacted sections of the files. Before the release of the documents, it was stipulated that nothing could be withheld simply because it was 'embarrassing' to any public figures involved.
However, it is important to protect victims' privacy; meanwhile, other concerns, such as identifying details and information that could compromise security, have also been considered when deciding what should be withheld.
On the Department of Justice's website, it states: "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. That said, because of the volume of information involved, this website may nevertheless contain information that inadvertently includes non-public personally identifiable information or other sensitive content, to include matters of a sexual nature."
So what exactly is missing currently?
One document that is heavily redacted, featuring 119 entirely blacked-out pages, is titled 'Grand Jury NY'.
Many statements, reports and photos throughout the files are also redacted; meanwhile, CBS estimates that more than 550 pages in total have been fully redacted.
"Technically, they're not in compliance," Democrat Ro Khanna told The Guardian. "The law calls for all the documents that are unclassified to be released. They have not done that. The law also calls for them to explain redactions.
"I haven't seen yet whether they've done that or not. My initial read is that they have a lot of redactions without explanation."
Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also said in a statement yesterday that 'the Trump administration had 30 days to release ALL the Epstein files, not just some', adding: "Failing to do so is breaking the law."
Meanwhile, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox & Friends: "We are looking at every single piece of paper that we are going to produce, making sure every victim - their name, their identity, their story, to the extent that it needs to be protected - is completely protected.
"So, today, several hundred thousand, and then over the next couple of weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more.
"There's a lot of eyes looking at these, so we want to make sure that when we do produce the materials that we're producing, we're protecting every single victim."
In a letter to Congress, Blanche said the documents were only the first set of a planned release, adding that 'the volume of materials to be reviewed … means that the department must publicly produce responsive documents on a rolling basis'.
According to The Guardian, he also acknowledged the number of redactions, including the removal of identifying details of some of the victims and their families.