‘Slap in the face’: Epstein victims slam release of heavily-redacted files

Victims of Jeffrey Epstein person criticised the United States authorities aft it released a partial trove of documents from cases against the precocious convicted enactment offender with heavy redacted pages and blacked-out photos.

The increasing outcry connected Saturday came arsenic US media reported that astatine slightest 16 files from the tranche, which were published online, had disappeared from the nationalist webpage.

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The deleted files included a photograph showing President Donald Trump.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) began releasing the trove connected Friday to comply with a instrumentality overwhelmingly passed by Congress successful November that ⁠mandated the disclosure of each Epstein files, contempt Trump’s months-long effort to support them sealed.

It said it plans to merchandise much records connected a rolling basis, blaming the hold connected what it said was a time-consuming process of obscuring survivors’ names and different identifying information.

But the tens of thousands of pages made nationalist offered small caller penetration into Epstein’s crimes oregon the prosecutorial decisions that allowed him to debar superior national charges for years. They besides omitted immoderate of the astir intimately watched materials, including FBI interviews with victims and interior DOJ memos connected charging decisions.

Meanwhile, a 119-page papers titled “Grand Jury-NY”, apt from 1 of the national enactment trafficking investigations that led to the charges against Epstein successful 2019, was wholly blacked out.

One of Epstein’s victims, Marina Lacerda, reacted angrily to the ample fig of redactions and unreleased documents.

“All of america are infuriated by this,” she told the quality outlet MS NOW connected Saturday. “It’s different slap successful the face. We expected mode more.”

Lacerda, who said Epstein abused her erstwhile she was 14 years of age, was a important witnesser successful the 2019 probe that led to the filing of enactment trafficking charges against the precocious financier.

Epstein killed himself successful jailhouse that twelvemonth soon aft his arrest.

Lacerda told The New York Times successful a abstracted interrogation that she felt fto down.

“So galore of the photos are irrelevant,” she said.

Another survivor, Jess Michaels, told the quality outlet CNN that she spent hours searching done the released files for her victim’s connection and records of her telephone to an FBI tipline, but recovered neither.

“I can’t find immoderate of those,” she said. “Is this the champion that the authorities tin do? Even an enactment of Congress isn’t getting america justice.”

Marijke Chartouni, who said she was abused by Epstein erstwhile she was 20 years old, decried a deficiency of openness.

“If everything is redacted, wherever is the transparency?” she said connected Friday successful an interrogation with The New York Times.

Some lawmakers besides expressed frustration.

Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who helped spearhead the legislative push, accused the White House of failing to comply “with some the tone and the missive of the instrumentality that Donald Trump signed conscionable 30 days ago” successful a societal media station connected Friday.

That instrumentality required the government’s lawsuit record to beryllium posted publically by Friday, constrained lone by ineligible and unfortunate privateness concerns.

Meanwhile, the unexplained 16 missing files led to speculation online astir what was taken down and wherefore the nationalist was not notified, compounding longstanding intrigue astir Epstein and the almighty figures who surrounded him.

Democrats connected the House Oversight Committee pointed to the missing representation featuring a Trump photograph successful a station connected X, writing: “What other is being covered up? We request transparency for the American public.”

“If they’re taking this down, conscionable ideate however overmuch much they’re trying to hide,” said elder Democrat Chuck Schumer. “This could beryllium 1 of the biggest cover-ups successful American history.”

The Trump administration, however, denied that it was not being forthcoming with the released materials. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said during a TV interrogation with ABC that determination was nary effort “to clasp thing back” to support Trump.

The DOJ besides issued a connection connected X precocious connected Saturday. “Photos and different materials volition proceed being reviewed and redacted accordant with the instrumentality successful an abundance of caution arsenic we person further information,” it said.

Separately, celebrities who appeared successful photos made disposable arsenic portion of Friday’s merchandise see erstwhile President Bill Clinton, precocious quality anchor Walter Cronkite, singers Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson and Diana Ross, British entrepreneur Richard Branson and the ⁠former Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson.

There were besides photos of Epstein with actors Chris Tucker and Kevin Spacey.

Many of the photos were undated and provided without context, and nary of those figures has been accused of immoderate wrongdoing successful transportation with Epstein.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor besides appears successful 1 photograph lying crossed the laps of respective women. The erstwhile duke of York, who was stripped of his royal rubric implicit his ties to Epstein, has denied immoderate wrongdoing.

Notably missing were references to Trump himself, contempt his predominant inclusion successful erstwhile releases of Epstein-related documents. Trump and Epstein were friends successful the 1990s and aboriginal 2000s and had a falling retired earlier Epstein’s archetypal condemnation successful 2008.

Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing and has denied knowing astir Epstein’s crimes.

Amid the outcry, the DOJ sought to gully attraction to Clinton, with 2 bureau spokespeople posting connected societal media images that they said showed him with Epstein victims.

Clinton’s lawman main of staff, Angel Urena, said successful a connection that the White House was attempting to “shield themselves” from scrutiny by focusing connected the erstwhile president.

“They tin merchandise arsenic galore grainy 20-plus-year-old photos arsenic they ‌want, but this isn’t astir Bill Clinton,” helium wrote.