The Department of Justice has just released a new set of documents from the investigation files into tycoon Jeffrey Epstein, accused of abuse and sex trafficking.
The American court said over the weekend that it will continue to review and edit materials from the thousands of files related to Epstein, which were released again on Friday (19).
“Photos and other materials will continue to be reviewed and edited in accordance with the law, out of an abundance of caution, as we receive additional information,” the Department of Justice wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday (20).
Among the documents released were images of known people and written complaints against Epstein.
Deadline not met
Despite a law requiring that all files related to the Epstein investigation be released by Friday (19), this did not happen. The Justice Department said it will continue to release more documents in the coming weeks.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed in November, required the Justice Department to make all files related to Jeffrey Epstein public by , in a searchable format, with content that could identify victims hidden.
Information hiding
Although the Epstein Files Transparency Act defined how redactions should be made to documents, both survivors and lawmakers have criticized the Justice Department for withholding too much information, with dozens of completely blacked-out pages being released.
At the same time, Gloria Allred, a lawyer representing several women abused by Jeffrey Epstein, said she believes some files may have been “underused” after seeing names of survivors who should not have been included in the documents.
Famous faces
Among the documents released were images of famous people, including actor Kevin Spacey, singer Michael Jackson, journalist Walter Cronkite and singer and actress Diana Ross.
None of the images released depict sexual activity, and many are simply photos of people together at public events or occasions.
Clinton and Spacey denied any wrongdoing, and the CNN received no response from Ross or representatives for Jackson or Cronkite.
“Proven allegations”
The release of a 1996 complaint against Epstein proved survivors Maria and Annie Farmer in favor. In an interview with Jake Tapper, from CNNAnnie Farmer said seeing the report was “very emotional.”
“Just seeing it in writing and knowing that they had this document all along — and how many people were harmed after that date? We’ve said this over and over again, but seeing it in black and white like this was very emotional,” she said.
