Epstein files released as redactions cloud transparency

New York State Sex Offender Registry, shows Jeffrey Epstein on March 28, 2017. (Photo/AP)

The US Justice Department has begun releasing a long-awaited cache of records from its investigations into convicted, disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, though much of the material was heavily redacted.

The files include numerous photographs showing prominent figures from Epstein’s social circle, among them former US president Bill Clinton, as well as Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson.

Many documents, however, feature extensive blackouts, raising questions over whether the disclosure will satisfy demands for transparency.

In one example, seven pages listing 254 masseuses have every name obscured beneath thick black bars, accompanied by the note: "redacted to protect potential victim information."

Despite the redactions, the files offer limited insight into Epstein’s ties to wealthy and influential individuals, including President Donald Trump, who previously acknowledged a past social relationship with the financier.

Some documents contain censored images of nude or scantily clad figures, while others show Epstein and associates posing with firearms, their faces obscured. Previously unseen photographs include images of Clinton in social settings, with parts of the images blacked out.

'A fraction of the evidence'

The White House quickly highlighted Clinton’s appearance in the files.

Communications Director Steven Cheung posted on X: "Slick Willy! @BillClinton just chillin, without a care in the world. Little did he know…"

Democrats, however, criticised the release as incomplete.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the disclosure failed to meet the intent of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires the Justice Department to publish its unclassified Epstein records, subject to legal and victim-privacy protections.

"This set of heavily redacted documents released by the Department of Justice today is just a fraction of the whole body of evidence," Schumer said.

"Simply releasing a mountain of blacked-out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law."

Other Democratic lawmakers said prosecutors had not released a draft indictment prepared after Epstein’s 2019 arrest, which they argue could implicate additional individuals.

Trump, who lived near Epstein in Palm Beach and appeared with him at social events in the 1990s, severed ties years before Epstein’s arrest and faces no allegations of wrongdoing.

He initially resisted the release of the files but ultimately signed the transparency law last month amid bipartisan pressure.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said several hundred thousand documents would be released, with more expected in the coming weeks.

He said material was being withheld or redacted to protect victims and avoid compromising ongoing investigations.

'Democrat hoax'

Trump has previously dismissed calls for further disclosure as a "Democrat hoax," despite earlier campaign pledges to release all Epstein-related files.

Epstein was found dead in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

His death was ruled a suicide.

His former partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, remains the only person convicted in connection with the case and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

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Source: TRT