At least 8,000 new Epstein-linked documents released by US Justice Department

WASHINGTON – At least 8,000 new documents related to the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were available on Dec 23 on the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) website.

The DOJ has been accused of withholding information and was criticised by Democrats over the slow release and heavy redaction
of records from the investigation into Epstein.

The new files include hundreds of videos or audio recordings, notably surveillance footage from August 2019, the month Epstein was found dead in his jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

The DOJ posted around 11,000 links to new documents online, but some of them appeared to lead nowhere.

The latest batch of US government files on late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein contain “untrue and sensationalist” claims against President Donald Trump, the DOJ said on Dec 23.

“Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election,” the Justice Department said on X, without specifying which allegations were false.

“If they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponised against President Trump already,” the department said.

Congress nearly unanimously passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA), which mandated the complete release of the Epstein files by Dec 19.

A group of victims earlier complained that only a “fraction” of the files were released and even those were “riddled with abnormal and extreme redactions with no explanation”.

EFTA co-sponsors Ro Khanna, a Democrat, and Thomas Massie, a Republican, threatened to bring contempt charges against Attorney-General Pam Bondi for failing to comply with the law.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced a resolution on Dec 22 calling for legal action against the administration for failing to release the complete Epstein files.

Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche blamed the delay on the need to redact the identities of Epstein’s more than 1,000 victims, and on Dec 21 denied allegations of protecting US President Donald Trump, who was formerly a close friend of Epstein’s.

Mr Trump had initially tried to block the disclosure of the files.

But the President, who cut ties with Epstein years before his arrest and faces no accusations of wrongdoing, finally bowed to mounting pressure from Congress and signed the law compelling publication of the files. AFP