DOJ Examines Possible Withheld Epstein Records
The Justice Department announced on Wednesday that it is investigating whether it improperly withheld documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein files. This comes after multiple news organizations reported that certain records, which include uncorroborated accusations made by a woman against President Donald Trump, were not included in the public release. The announcement came in the wake of news reports indicating that a significant release of records by the Justice Department omitted several summaries of interviews conducted by the FBI with an unnamed woman. This woman alleged that she was sexually assaulted by both Trump and Epstein during her minority in the 1980s, after coming forward following Epstein’s 2019 arrest. “Several individuals and news outlets have recently flagged files related to documents produced to Ghislaine Maxwell in discovery of her criminal case that they claim appear to be missing,” the Justice Department said in a post on X. “As with all documents that have been flagged by the public, the Department is currently reviewing files within that category of the production.” Maxwell, a close associate of Epstein, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence following a conviction for sex trafficking.
“If any document is found to have been improperly withheld and is responsive to the federally enacted law mandating the files’ release, the Department will of course publish it, consistent with the law,” it stated. At issue is a series of interviews reportedly conducted in 2019 with a woman who made an allegation against Trump, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. Recent news reports indicate that the accuser underwent four interviews; however, only a summary of one of those interviews has been made available in the publicly released files. The missing records were previously reported. Rep Robert Garcia stated that his panel would conduct an investigation into the withheld records. He stated that he had examined unredacted evidence logs and “can confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews” with the accuser.
The Justice Department announced last month that it would be releasing over 3 million pages of records pertaining to Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The department stated at the time that, while it was striving for transparency, it also had the right to withhold records that could reveal potential abuse victims, were duplicates, protected by legal privileges, or pertained to an ongoing criminal investigation. Certain documents include false and sensational claims about President Trump that were presented to the FBI just prior to the 2020 election. “To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponised against President Trump already,” the department said in a statement last month as it released the records.
The redaction process was swiftly shown to be flawed, as the department retracted certain materials pinpointed by victims or their attorneys, in addition to a “substantial number” of documents recognized independently by the government. Attorneys representing Epstein accusers informed a New York judge last month that the lives of nearly 100 victims had been “turned upside down” due to careless redactions in the government’s most recent records release. The disclosed materials comprise nude photographs revealing the faces of possible victims, alongside names, email addresses, and other identifying details that were either left unredacted or inadequately obscured. Other unverified allegations against Trump and various public figures were incorporated into the publicly accessible documents. The department did not clarify in its social media post on Wednesday the reasons for withholding records pertaining to this particular accusation.
