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The US Department of Justice (DoJ) said it had disclosed all files required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, but lawmakers argued the disclosure was insufficient.
The letter sent on Saturday to members of the US Congress by Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche indicates that all documents in the possession of the DoJ have been made public and provides a list of names contained in the files.
Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who co-wrote the law, called on the Justice Department to also release internal memos outlining past decisions on whether to charge Epstein and his associates.
Millions of new records relating to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released by the DoJ earlier this month.
In the letter, Attorney General Bondi and Deputy Blanche wrote: “Consistent with the requirements of the law, and as described in various Department submissions to the Southern District of New York courts assigned to the Epstein and Maxwell prosecutions and related orders, the Department has disclosed all ‘records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in the Department’s possession’ that ‘pertain to’ any of nine different categories.”
No records were withheld during the DoJ release “based on embarrassment, reputational damage, or political sensitivity,” the letter added.
Those listed in the letter include people who “are or have been government officials or politically exposed persons” and whose names appeared at least once in the records, the letter said.
The names appear in the files in a “wide variety of contexts,” including some people who had “extensive direct email contact with Epstein or Maxwell” and others who were simply referenced in documents or news articles contained in the files, Blanche and Bondi wrote.
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Donald Trump, Bill Gates, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Bill Clinton – who are on the list – all had documented past relationships with Epstein and Maxwell. There is no indication that appearing in the documents implies any wrongdoing and each has denied any involvement in Epstein’s crimes.
But the list also includes the names of deceased musicians Janis Joplin and Elvis Presley.
The letter was addressed to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin, as well as House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin.
In an interview with ABC This Week on Sunday, Massie argued that even if the DoJ “wants to say they’re done with the production of this document,” there are more crucial files that should be released.
The DoJ “signed the deliberation process privilege so as not to disclose certain documents,” he said.
“The problem is that the bill that Ro Khanna and I wrote says that they have to release internal memos, notes and emails regarding their decisions to pursue or not pursue charges, to investigate or not to investigate.”
In response to the letter, California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, who co-authored the Epstein Files Transparency Act, accused the DoJ of “deliberately muddying the waters on who was a predator and who was mentioned in an email.”
“Having Janis Joplin, who died when Epstein was 17, on the same list as Larry Nassar, who went to prison for sexually abusing hundreds of young women and child pornography, without any clarity on how either was mentioned in the records is absurd,” Khanna wrote on X Saturday.
“Publish the full files,” he added. “Stop protecting predators. Only redact the names of survivors.”
The BBC has contacted the Ministry of Justice for comment.
US lawmakers had previously said that files on Epstein were improperly redacted before their release, leading to at least one document not being redacted after their criticism.
Lawyers for Epstein’s victims also said the latest tranche of files included email addresses and nude photos in which the names and faces of potential victims could be identified.
At the time, the DoJ said the errors were due to “technical or human error” and removed all reported files.
