Epstein Files Released With Heavy Redactions

The US Justice Department has released an initial tranche of documents related to deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Epstein was arrested in July 2019 for sex trafficking and was found dead in his jail cell in August of that year,with authorities later determining that he hanged himself. As his death, there has been a campaign for the full publication of all documents and photos and to reveal high-profile names he associated with.

The material released includes photos, videos, and investigative documents, following Congress passing a law mandating the files be released in their entirety by Friday (December 19). They were made public shortly after 9pm UK time last night, just hours before the legal deadline brought about by the passing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Commentators across the political spectrum have accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) of violating its legal obligations after it said it would not be able to release all the documents by the deadline.

Republicans and Democrats alike have protested the heavy redactions that rendered entire passages blank. senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said “simply releasing a mountain of blacked out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law”,while democrat Representative Ro Khanna – who co-authored the bill that forced the publication of the files – said the release “was an incomplete release with too many redactions,” per BBC News.

The DOJ website where the files are available to view stated: “In view of the Congressional mandate, the Department is releasing the first set of documents today.”