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A day after the US Department of Justice released thousands of documents related to the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, critics have accused the Trump administration of not being honest about its promise to make all the data public.
Many, including Democrats and some Epstein victims, have pointed out that the documents released under the Epstein Transparency Act have been fully or partially blacked out.
Nearly 700 pages redacted
According to an NBC News analysis, more than 680 pages of documents were entirely redacted.
CBS News found that a series of three consecutive documents — totalling 255 pages were entirely redacted, with each page covered by a black box. A fourth 119-page document labelled “Grand Jury-NY” is also entirely redacted.
At least 180 more pages have been partially hidden. This includes the faces of individuals in photographs or personal information, such as addresses and phone numbers.
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Ro Khanna, Thomas Massie criticise redacted release
Democrat Ro Khanna and Republican Thomas Massie, who helped lead the effort to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, argued that Friday’s document release wasn’t in compliance with their law.
Khanna, in a video posted on X called it an “incomplete release with too many redactions, adding that he’s “exploring all options,” including impeachment or referrals for prosecution.
Massie said the release “grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law.”
Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene – who has recently fallen out with Trump – criticized the release, describing “the heavily redacted Epstein files”, the “failure to release them all by today’s lawful deadline” and the redaction of “politically exposed individuals and government officials” as “NOT MAGA”.
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Clinton all over documents, little mention of Trump
Another notable feature of the Epstein documents released on Friday was how they had few mentions of President Donald Trump but extensively featured Democratic former President Bill Clinton.
In images released on Friday, Clinton can be seen in a swimming pool with Maxwell and another person whose face is blacked out. In another image he can be seen in a hot tub with what appears to be another person whose face is blacked out. Clinton has previously expressed regret for socializing with Epstein and said he was not aware of any criminal activity.
The absence of references to Trump was notable given that pictures and documents related to him have trickled out of previous Epstein releases for years. Trump’s name appeared in flight manifests listing passengers on Epstein’s private plane that were part of a first batch of Epstein material the Justice Department released in February, for instance.
Democrats say DOJ took down published photo
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have also accused the Justice Department of taking down a previously published photo that included Trump.
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“This photo, file 468, from the Epstein files that includes Donald Trump, has apparently now been removed from the DOJ release. @AGPamBondi, is this true? What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”
What DOJ said
There were more than 1,200 victims or their relatives whose names must be redacted from the files, said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in a letter to Congress.
The DOJ said the Epstein documents are being redacted solely to protect victims, and no politicians’ names are being withheld.
“The only redactions being applied to the documents are those required by law — full stop. Consistent with the statute and applicable laws, we are not redacting the names of individuals or politicians unless they are a victim,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
