The Justice Department is seeking volunteers to help redact more Epstein files over the ‘next several days,’ it has emerged.
A supervising prosecutor announced an ’emergency request’ from the DOJ to help with ‘remote document review and redactions related to the Epstein files,’ according to an internal email sent to the Southern District of Florida‘s US Attorney’s Office.
The email, which was reviewed by CNN, suggests the DOJ will release more files related to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
‘I am aware that the timing could not be worse,’ the official reportedly wrote in Tuesday’s email asking career prosecutors for assistance. ‘For some the holidays are about to begin, but I know that for others the holidays are coming to an end.’
The supervising prosecutor cited how officials have an ‘obligation to the public to release’ the files but in order to do so must make ‘certain redactions’ to ‘protect the identity of the victims, among other things.’
The DOJ has released a massive trove of Epstein files already, but there are many more to come with officials noting that overall there are hundreds of thousands of documents set to be released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Some of the files released by the DOJ were improperly redacted, allowing sleuths to easily reveal the censored information by copying and pasting blacked-out text into a word processing document, the New York Times reported.
The hack allowed viewers to reveal previously withheld names and entities. It also revealed additional details of Epstein’s alleged abuse – which the Daily Mail has opted not to publish – and money concealment tactics.
The Daily Mail understands the redactions that sleuths were able to hack through were applied by various courts, whose documents were then handed over to the DOJ and published in the Epstein files. Files redacted by the DOJ and FBI were unaffected.
The Justice Department is seeking volunteers to help redact more Epstein files over the ‘next several days,’ according to an internal memo reviewed by CNN. Convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein is pictured in an undated photo with a woman whose identity has been concealed
Bipartisan lawmakers have threatened to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi (pictured earlier this month) in content of Congress over the slow release of the Epstein files
The Justice Department released its biggest Epstein dump yet on Tuesday, including nearly 30,000 more pages of files.
The files included news clippings, varied tips to law enforcement and surveillance videos from the New York jail where Epstein was held before taking his own life in 2019. Much was already in the public domain.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act called for the files to be released within 30 days, but the Justice Department has instead released them in stages starting Friday.
Officials have said they’re going slowly to protect victims, though some women assaulted by Epstein have spoken out publicly to call for greater transparency.
At least one victim has called for President Donald Trump‘s impeachment over the handling on the files while bipartisan lawmakers have threatened to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi in content of Congress.
Trump tried for months to keep the records sealed before relenting to political pressure, including from some fellow Republicans, though he eventually signed a bill mandating the release of most of the DOJ’s files on Epstein.
Trump was named in several Epstein files released Tuesday, but the DOJ said that all the allegations against him were determined to be ‘unfounded and false.’
The president has not been accused of any wrongdoing concerning Epstein.
Well-known people shown in the files include former President Bill Clinton, (pictured) the late pop star Michael Jackson and singer Diana Ross. The mere inclusion of someone’s name or images in files from the investigation does not imply wrongdoing
The Trump administration has faced fierce accusations that it is withholding too much information and ‘protecting’ Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators
Trump has complained that the files were a distraction from the work he and other Republicans are doing for the country.
Speaking during an unrelated event at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida on Monday, Trump blamed Democrats and some Republicans for the controversy.
‘What this whole thing is with Epstein is a way of trying to deflect from the tremendous success that the Republican Party has,’ he said.
He also expressed frustration about the famous people shown with Epstein in photos released by the Justice Department – people who he said may not have known him but ended up in the shot anyway.
‘You probably have pictures being exposed of other people that innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago, many years ago. And they´re, you know, highly respected bankers and lawyers and others,’ Trump said.
Well-known people shown in the files include former President Bill Clinton, the late pop star Michael Jackson and singer Diana Ross. The mere inclusion of someone’s name or images in files from the investigation does not imply wrongdoing.
The Trump administration is also facing fierce accusations that it is withholding too much information and ‘protecting’ Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators as newly released documents suggest at least 10 others were involved in his child sex trafficking ring.
The damning evidence – included in Tuesday’s trove of files – of Epstein’s alleged accomplices came to light in an email that was sent between federal investigators trying to contact around 10 ‘co-conspirators’ after the late pedophile’s arrest in 2019.
At least one victim has called for President Donald Trump’s impeachment over the handling on the files. The president – who was named in several files but has not been accused of any wrongdoing – blamed Democrats and some Republicans for the Epstein files controversy while speaking at his Mar-a-Lago home on Monday (pictured)
The email, which was shared online by Miami Herald reporter Julie K Brown, was sent just one day after federal agents arrested Epstein on sex trafficking charges and raided his Manhattan home.
All of the names included in the email were redacted except for three. The first two were Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges in 2021; and Jean-Luc Brunel, a former French modeling agent who was found dead in his Paris jail cell in 2022 and was suspected of scouting girls for Epstein.
The third was retail magnate Leslie Wexner, who was a major benefactor for Epstein until he severed ties with the financier in 2007 amid his indictment in Florida.
But lawyers for the former Victoria Secret CEO told BBC News that ‘the assistant US attorney in charge of the Epstein investigation stated at the time that Mr. Wexner was neither a co-conspirator nor target.
‘Mr. Wexner cooperated fully by providing background information on Epstein and was never contacted again,’ the attorneys claimed.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the tens of thousands of files released still left ‘more questions than answers.’
He pointed to a 2019 FBI email that mentions 10 people under investigation as possible co-conspirators but contains few additional details.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has defended the DOJ’s process and redactions, saying in a statement last week: ‘The only redactions being applied to the documents are those required by law — full stop.’
