Former President Bill Clinton’s spokesman criticized the government’s response to the mandatory release of Epstein files last week, joining a group of survivors and lawmakers from both parties in criticizing the Justice Department for not releasing all the files by a December deadline.
Key data
Ángel Ureña, a spokesperson for the former president, issued a statement calling for the “immediate release” of the remaining files “that reference, mention or contain a photograph of Bill Clinton.”
Ureña said that refusing to release the information would indicate that the Justice Department was more interested in “using selective information to suggest wrongdoing” by the former president.
In their own statement Monday, 18 survivors said the Justice Department’s “partial release” made it “difficult or impossible” to locate documents related to their individual cases, arguing that it makes it difficult to find out whether victims’ information was “erroneously disclosed.”
The group also called for congressional oversight and legal action, echoing demands from Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who threatened to bring inherent contempt charges against Justice Department officials.
Although the Justice Department released thousands of files and photographs on Friday, observers on social media soon noticed that 16 images were abruptly removed from the archive on Saturday.
Find out: Trump government activates a portal to search for files on the Epstein case
Justice Department officials insisted they possibly showed some of the disgraced financier’s victims, although the sudden redaction sparked fears that the Justice Department is selectively censoring the files for political purposes.
One of the removed images showed an open desk drawer with photos of Epstein and other famous figures, including photos of President Donald Trump, although the Justice Department restored the image to its Epstein Library on Sunday afternoon, insisting it was removed “out of an abundance of caution” to protect potential victims.
The other deleted images were mostly paintings of naked women found in Epstein’s home, NBC News reported, while the New York Times also reported that some contained photos of naked women with their faces redacted.
Surprising fact
Twelve of the deleted images showed Epstein’s empty massage room in his Manhattan mansion, the New York Times noted; Nude photos and paintings were visible in that room, but some are also visible in images of the room that were published in the archive.
Contra
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Justice Department’s handling of the release over the weekend, telling “Meet the Press” that the files were removed due to “concerns about those women” in the photos and that the removal “had nothing to do with President Trump.”
Crucial ideals
“No guidance has been provided to survivors on how to locate materials related to our own cases, nor have we been provided with copies of our own files despite repeated requests,” the survivors wrote in Monday’s statement. “Survivors or our representatives have not been contacted about what was withheld in the release, why hundreds of thousands of documents have not been released by the legal deadline, or how the Department of Justice will ensure that more victims’ names are not erroneously released.”
You may be interested in:
Publication of Epstein case materials scheduled for Friday may be partial
Were the files deleted because of Trump?
The quick removal of the image from the desk sparked criticism from Democrats, who claimed the Justice Department was intervening in the process to protect the president. Despite an extensive history with the financier before his conviction, Trump’s name was only found in the file in documents that had already been made public. “What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public,” House Democrats on the Oversight Committee said in a post on X on Friday. Democrats on the Oversight Committee have released dozens of images from the files through their own review, including photos of the president obtained from Epstein’s estate. Blanche said the idea that the Justice Department was removing a single photo on behalf of the president was “ridiculous.” Speaking to “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Blanche said: “There are dozens of photos of President Trump already released to the public where he is seen with Mr. Epstein. He has said that in the ’90s and early 2000s he socialized with him.”
What else is missing from the file release?
On Monday, the survivors’ group noted that 119 pages of the grand jury minutes included in the statement were completely redacted, what the group called “abnormal and extreme redactions without explanation.” They also noted that no financial documents were included in the first release. The documents did not include internal memos or communications from the FBI and prosecutors about the case, which Massie and Khanna demanded be released. Khanna also mentioned during an appearance on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that a “60-count indictment that actually implicates many of these people,” as well as a “prosecution memo,” have not been made public. In a separate interview with NPR, Khanna said he was also looking for witness memos written after the FBI conducted interviews with the victims. However, Blanche suggested that many of these documents would also be heavily redacted. “A lot of those internal communications talk about the victims,” Blanche told “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker. Many of those internal exchanges between prosecutors and law enforcement talk about the victims and their stories. And that must be censored.
Key background
Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law last month, ending a long saga that began after the Justice Department in July abruptly canceled the administration’s promise to release documents related to Epstein. Trump’s staunchest supporters, among others, harshly criticized the measure. The file released Friday contained numerous new images of the financier with celebrities and politicians, including previously unseen photos of former President Bill Clinton and former Prince Andrew. It also contains a 1996 complaint filed by the victim, Maria Farmer, about Epstein’s interest in child pornography.
This article was originally published by Forbes US
Follow information about the world in our international section
