A bunch of alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein accused the Division of Justice of missteps, together with violations of the regulation, in its partial release of recordsdata associated to the disgraced financier’s abuse of younger girls and ladies.
The DOJ confronted a Friday deadline imposed by Congress to launch an enormous cache of information gathered throughout authorities investigations into the intercourse offender, who died in jail in 2019.
Justice officers launched 1000’s of recordsdata — starting from investigative paperwork to grand jury testimony to snapshots taken by Epstein and his mates — however mentioned it might fail to totally launch all of the recordsdata by the deadline.
“As a substitute, the general public obtained a fraction of the recordsdata, and what we obtained was riddled with irregular and excessive redactions with no rationalization,” a bunch of 19 girls, together with two Jane Does, mentioned in a press release launched on Monday. “On the similar time, quite a few sufferer identities have been left unredacted, inflicting actual and fast hurt.”
Newly-released paperwork from disgraced late financier and intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein, together with a sheaf of totally redacted pages, are seen on this handouts launched by the U.S. Justice Division and printed and organized for {a photograph} by Reuters in Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
The assertion, which was launched early Monday by attorneys representing the ladies, additionally pointed to what they mentioned was lacking from the recordsdata. Omissions by both redactions or unreleased pages amounted to a failure, they mentioned.
“No monetary paperwork have been launched,” the assertion mentioned. “Grand jury minutes, although permitted by a federal decide for launch, have been absolutely blacked out — not the scattered redactions that is perhaps anticipated to guard sufferer names, however 119 full pages blacked out. We’re instructed that there are a whole lot of 1000’s of pages of paperwork nonetheless unreleased.”
“These are clear-cut violations of an unambiguous regulation,” the assertion added.
Some paperwork disclosed on Friday with important redactions have been reposted early Saturday with some or all the redactions lifted, in accordance with a evaluate of the recordsdata by ABC Information.
Deputy Legal professional Basic Todd Blanche said on social media on Friday, because the preliminary recordsdata have been being launched, that “[a]dditional responsive supplies can be produced as our evaluate continues, according to the regulation and with protections for victims.” The DOJ on Sunday released an identical assertion, including that critiques of the fabric would proceed “as we obtain further data.”
President Donald Trump in November had signed a bill that gave the Justice Division 30 days to launch the supplies.
The assertion from alleged victims famous that DOJ officers had structured the discharge of paperwork in a approach that made it “tough or inconceivable” for Epstein’s alleged victims to seek out data that could be essential to their circumstances. And so they mentioned they hadn’t been contacted about potential redactions or withholdings previous to the paperwork’ launch.
An undated picture from the property of Jeffrey Epstein is a part of a group of pictures launched Dec. 18, 2025, by Democrats on the Home Oversight Committee.
Home Oversight Committee Democrats
“It’s alarming that america Division of Justice, the very company tasked with upholding the regulation, has violated the regulation, each by withholding huge portions of paperwork, and by failing to redact survivor identities,” the ladies’s assertion mentioned.
The ladies referred to as for “fast” oversight from Congress “to make sure the Division of Justice fulfils its authorized obligations.”
Individually on Sunday, Brittany Henderson and Brad Edwards — attorneys who characterize greater than 200 survivors of Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell — had instructed ABC Information that for the reason that Epstein recordsdata have been posted on Friday, they’d been listening to from purchasers who’ve seen their names or different figuring out data un-redacted paperwork within the DOJ’s disclosure.
Henderson and Edwards mentioned they’d been working by way of the weekend with federal officers in New York and D.C. to take down paperwork containing private data of alleged victims, a lot of whom have by no means had their names disclosed in any context linked to Epstein.
In a single occasion, Henderson and Edwards mentioned, a sealed doc from settled civil litigation containing the names of greater than two dozen alleged victims — was posted with out redactions. That doc was amongst these which have been faraway from the DOJ’s website, the legal professionals mentioned.
Newly-released paperwork from disgraced late financier and intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein, right here together with a redacted picture of a lady, are seen on this handout picture launched by the U.S. Justice Division and printed and organized for {a photograph} by Reuters in Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
The attorneys mentioned that about 15 paperwork had by Sunday been pulled from the positioning — no less than quickly — on account of their consultations with the federal government.
DOJ officers mentioned in a social media statement on Sunday afternoon that they’d “obtained incoming from people alleging to be victims and their legal professionals, requesting that sure data be eliminated. Out of an abundance of warning, the fabric is quickly eliminated for evaluate and can be launched once more with applicable redactions, if legally required.”
Blanche mentioned earlier on Sunday in an interview on NBC Information that the DOJ can be aware of issues raised by victims about potential publicity of figuring out data and insisted, regardless of the gradual launch of supplies, that DOJ is complying with the regulation.
“The statute additionally requires us to guard victims and—and so the rationale why we’re nonetheless reviewing paperwork and nonetheless persevering with our course of is just that to guard victims,” he mentioned. “So the identical people which are on the market complaining in regards to the lack of paperwork that have been produced on Friday are the identical people who apparently don’t need us to guard victims.”
“The fact is anyone, any sufferer, any sufferer’s legal professionals, any sufferer rights group, can attain out to us and say, ‘Hey, Division of Justice, there’s a doc, there’s a photograph, there’s one thing throughout the Epstein recordsdata that identifies me,'” he added. “And we are going to then, after all, pull that off and examine.”
