Victims, lawmakers condemn slow release of Epstein files

WASHINGTON - Victims of disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein joined a chorus of criticism on Dec 22 over the Trump administration’s slow release and heavy redaction of records from the investigation into his alleged sex crimes.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) passed nearly unanimously by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump mandated the complete release of the Epstein files by Dec 19.

But the Trump administration’s Justice Department has released only one batch of documents so far, with Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche blaming the delay on the need to painstakingly redact the identities of Epstein’s more than 1,000 victims from the documents.

In a statement, a group of Epstein victims complained that only a “fraction” of the files have been released and “what we received was riddled with abnormal and extreme redactions with no explanation.”

“We are told that there are hundreds of thousands of pages of documents still unreleased,” they said in a statement published by US media. “These are clear cut violations of an unambiguous law.”

“At the same time, numerous victim identities were left unredacted, causing real and immediate harm,” they added.

EFTA co-sponsors Ro Khanna, a Democrat, and Mr Thomas Massie, a Republican, threatened over the weekend to bring contempt of Congress charges against Attorney-General Pam Bondi for failing to comply with the law.

And Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced a resolution on Dec 22 calling for legal action against the Trump administration for failing to release the complete Epstein files.

“Instead of transparency, the Trump administration released a tiny fraction of the files and blacked out massive portions of what little they provided,” Mr Schumer said in a statement.

“This is a blatant cover-up. Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche are shielding Donald Trump from accountability, and the Senate has a duty to act.”

‘We need no such protection’

Mr Blanche denied on Dec 21 that the Justice Department was redacting the files to protect the president
, a formerly close friend of Epstein, a convicted sex offender with connections to the rich and powerful.

Mr Trump initially tried to block the disclosure of the files linked to Epstein, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019
while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in what was ruled a suicide.

The president, who cut ties with Epstein years before his arrest and faces no accusations of wrongdoing, finally bowed to mounting pressure from Congress and signed the law compelling publication of the files
.

The files released last week included several photographs of former Democratic president Bill Clinton.

Mr Trump on Dec 22 dismissed the furore over Epstein as a distraction from his party’s achievements.

“This whole thing with Epstein is a way of trying to deflect from the tremendous success that the Republican Party has,” he told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago home.

Former Democratic president Bill Clinton featured prominently in the first batch of photos from the Epstein files released by the Justice Department and Mr Trump was asked for his reaction.

“I like Bill Clinton,” he said. “I hate to see photos come out of him.”

“There’s photos of me too,” Mr Trump noted. “Everybody was friendly with this guy (Epstein).”

“You probably have pictures being exposed of other people that innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago, many years ago, and they’re highly respected bankers and lawyers and others,” he said.

“But they’re in a picture with him because he was at a party, and you ruin a reputation of somebody.”

Mr Clinton urged the Justice Department in a statement on Dec 22 to release any materials in the files related to him, saying he had nothing to hide.

“Someone or something is being protected. We do not know whom, what or why. But we do know this: We need no such protection,” Mr Clinton said.

Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend, remains the only person convicted in connection with his crimes and is serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting underage girls for the disgraced financier. AFP