{"id":107845,"date":"2025-12-21T05:01:53","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T05:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=107845"},"modified":"2025-12-21T05:01:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T05:01:53","slug":"survivors-nervous-and-sceptical-about-release-of-remaining-epstein-files","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=107845","title":{"rendered":"Survivors \u2018nervous and sceptical\u2019 about release of remaining Epstein files"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>6 Minute, 21 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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The release of thousands of pages of documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s abuse has left some who were anxiously awaiting the files disappointed.<\/p>\n

The documents\u2019 release was prompted by an act of Congress that directed the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to make materials related to Epstein\u2019s crimes public. But some documents have numerous redactions, and others have not been shared publicly at all.<\/p>\n

The lawmakers who pushed for these documents to see the light of day have said the release is incomplete and described the DOJ\u2019s efforts as insincere.<\/p>\n

Some legal experts also warned that the breadth of redaction may only fuel ongoing conspiracy theories.<\/p>\n

But Deputy US Attorney Todd Blanche said on Friday \u2013 the day the materials were released \u2013 that the department identified more than 1,200 Epstein victims or their relatives, and withheld material that could identify them.<\/p>\n

Among the latest released information is a photo of Epstein confidante Ghislaine Maxwell outside Downing Street, a document that claims Epstein introduced a 14-year-old girl to US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and multiple images of former President Bill Clinton.<\/p>\n

At least 15 of the released files were no longer available on the DOJ website on Saturday, according to CBS, the BBC\u2019s media partner in the US.<\/p>\n

One of the missing files showed a mass of framed photos on a desk, CBS reported. The photos showed Bill Clinton, and another was of the Pope. In an open drawer, there was a photo of Trump, Epstein, and Maxwell.<\/p>\n

Other missing files included photos of a room with what appeared to be a massage table and nude photos and nude paintings.<\/p>\n

It was not clear why the files were no longer available.<\/p>\n

In a post on X on Saturday night, the DOJ wrote: \u201cPhotos and other materials will continue being reviewed and redacted consistent with the law in an abundance of caution as we receive additional information.\u201d<\/p>\n

The BBC has asked the DOJ for comment.<\/p>\n

Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein and has not been accused of any crimes by Epstein\u2019s victims. Clinton has never been accused of wrongdoing by survivors of Epstein\u2019s abuse, and has denied knowledge of his sex offending.<\/p>\n

Other released photos show the interiors of Epstein\u2019s homes, his overseas travels, as well as celebrities, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and Peter Mandelson.<\/p>\n

Being named or pictured in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing. Many of those identified in the files or in previous releases related to Epstein have denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

But many of the documents are also heavily redacted.<\/p>\n

The DOJ said it would comply with the congressional request to release documents, with some stipulations.<\/p>\n

It redacted personally identifiable information about Epstein\u2019s victims, materials depicting child sexual abuse, materials depicting physical abuse, any records that \u201cwould jeopardise an active federal investigation\u201d or any classified documents that must stay secret to protect \u201cnational defence or foreign policy\u201d.<\/p>\n

The DOJ said it was \u201cnot redacting the names of any politicians\u201d, and added a quote they attributed to Blanche, saying: \u201cThe only redactions being applied to the documents are those required by law \u2013 full stop.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsistent with the statute and applicable laws, we are not redacting the names of individuals or politicians unless they are a victim.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Day, a criminal defence attorney, told the BBC he was surprised by the amount of information that was redacted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just going to feed the fire if you are a conspiracy theorist,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone anticipated there would be this many redactions. It certainly raises questions about how faithfully the DOJ is following the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Day also noted that the justice department is required to provide a log of what was being redacted to Congress within 15 days of the files\u2019 release.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil you know what\u2019s being redacted you don\u2019t know what\u2019s being withheld,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In a letter to the judges overseeing the Epstein and Maxwell cases, US attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, said: \u201cVictim privacy interests counsel in favour of redacting the faces of women in photographs with Epstein even where not all the women are known to be victims because it is not practicable for the department to identify every person in a photo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clayton added that \u201cthis approach to photographs could be viewed by some as an over-redaction\u201d \u2013 but that \u201cthe department believes it should, in the compressed time frame, err on the side of redacting to protect victims.\u201d<\/p>\n

Survivors of Epstein\u2019s abuses, are among those most frustrated by the release.<\/p>\n

Marina Lacerda, who was 14 when she was abused by Epstein, told the BBC she and other survivors have long waited for the files to be released.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a little disappointed that they\u2019re now still lingering on and distracting us with other things,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the survivors are still nervous and sceptical about how they are going to release the rest of the files. We are very worried that it will still be redacted in the same way that it was today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Epstein survivor Liz Stein told BBC Radio 4\u2019s Today programme that she thinks the Justice Department is \u201creally brazenly going against the Epstein Files Transparency Act\u201d, which is the law that requires all the documents to be released.<\/p>\n

Survivors are really worried about the possibility of a \u201cslow roll-out of incomplete information without any context\u201d, she noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just want all of the evidence of these crimes out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baroness Helena Kennedy, a human rights lawyer and Labour peer in the House of Lords in the UK, said she was told the redactions in the documents were there to protect the victims.<\/p>\n

\u201cAuthorities always have a worry\u201d about \u201cexposing people to yet further denigration in the public mind\u201d, she told the BBC\u2019s Today programme.<\/p>\n

Many Epstein survivors seem \u201cvery keen\u201d to have the material exposed, she said, but added that they \u201cmight not be so keen if they knew exactly what was in there\u201d.<\/p>\n

Democrat Congressman Ro Khanna, who led the charge along with Republican Congressman Thomas Massie to release the files, said the release was \u201cincomplete\u201d and added that he is looking at options like impeachment, contempt or referral to prosecution.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur law requires them to explain redactions,\u201d Khanna said. \u201cThere is not a single explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Massie seconded Khanna\u2019s statement and posted on social media that Attorney General Pam Bondi and other justice department officials could be prosecuted by future justice departments for not complying with the document requirements.<\/p>\n

He said the document release \u201cgrossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law\u201d of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.<\/p>\n

After the release, the White House called the Trump Administration the most \u201ctransparent in history\u201d, adding that it has \u201cdone more for the victims than Democrats ever have\u201d.<\/p>\n

Blanche was asked in an interview with ABC News whether all documents mentioning Trump in the so-called Epstein files will be released in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cAssuming it\u2019s consistent with the law, yes,\u201d Blanche said. \u201cSo there\u2019s no effort to hold anything back because there\u2019s the name Donald J Trump or anybody else\u2019s name, Bill Clinton\u2019s name, Reid Hoffman\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no effort to hold back or not hold back because of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not redacting the names of famous men and women that are associated with Epstein,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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