US Justice Department pulls thousands of Epstein files after victim data exposed

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US Department of Justice said it had taken down “several thousand documents and media files” from its public website after acknowledging that some files related to Jeffrey Epstein may have mistakenly revealed identifying information about victims.

“It came after lawyers representing more than 200 alleged victims of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein urged federal judges to order the immediate takedown of the Epstein files website, citing widespread failures to redact victims’ identities,” said the Justice Department letter, submitted by Jay Clayton, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York.

“The Department has worked all hours through the weekend from the point when the first victim-related concerns were raised. To that end, out of the larger production described above, the Department now has taken down several thousands of documents and media that may have inadvertently included victim-identifying information due to various factors, including technical or human error,” it added.

The letter added that the agency had removed nearly all materials specifically identified by victims or their counsel, as well as a “substantial number” of documents independently identified by the department, and said it was reviewing those documents.

In a letter sent to US District Judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer, attorneys Brad Edwards and Brittany Henderson said the latest release of millions of pages of documents exposed names and identifying information of dozens of survivors, including many who were minors at the time of their abuse.

“For the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, every hour matters. The harm is ongoing and irreversible,” they wrote in the letter quoted by several US media outlets.

According to The Wall Street Journal, at least 43 victims’ full names were left unredacted in files made public on Friday, with some appearing more than 100 times.

More than two dozen of those named were minors, the report found, with some documents also revealing home addresses, bank information and other personal data.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the release, telling broadcaster ABC News that the errors affect “.001% of all the materials.”

Every time we hear from a victim or their lawyer that they believe that their name was not properly redacted, we immediately rectify that,” he said.

On Jan. 30, Todd Blanche announced that all documents related to the Epstein case had been made public.

The disclosure of over 3 million pages includes references to numerous prominent figures, among them US President Donald Trump, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and former US President Bill Clinton.

Epstein was arrested in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit such offenses. He was denied bail by a Manhattan court and was later found dead by suicide in his cell while awaiting trial.