Trump administration official defends partial release of Epstein files by the Justice Department

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the Justice Department’s decision to release only a portion of the Jeffrey Epstein files by a deadline set by Congress as necessary to protect survivors of sexual assault by the disgraced financier.

Blanche pledged that the Trump administration would eventually fulfill its obligations required by law. But he stressed that the ministry was obligated to act cautiously while publishing thousands of documents that could contain sensitive information.

The partial release of the Epstein files on Friday led to a new wave of criticism from Democrats, who accused the Republican administration of trying to hide the information.

He watches: The Justice Department’s release of the heavily redacted Epstein dossier has drawn criticism from lawmakers

Blanche called the response disingenuous as President Donald Trump’s administration continues to struggle with calls for more transparency, including from members of his political base, about the government’s investigations into Epstein, who once counted Trump as well as several political leaders and business titans among his peers.

“The reason we are continuing to review the documents and continuing our operation is simply to protect the victims,” ​​Blanche told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “So the same individuals complaining about the lack of documentation that was provided on Friday are the same individuals who apparently don’t want us to protect the victims.”

Blanche’s comments were the most comprehensive by the department since the dump, which included photos, transcripts of interviews, call logs, court records and other documents. But some of the most crucial records expected about Epstein are nowhere to be found, such as FBI interviews with survivors and internal Justice Department memos examining charging decisions. These records could help explain how investigators viewed the case and why Epstein in 2008 was allowed to plead guilty to a relatively minor state prostitution charge.

Read more: See photos and documents from the latest version of the Epstein profile

Trump, who was friends with Epstein for years before they fell out, tried for months to keep the records sealed. Although Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, he said there was nothing to see in the files and that the public should focus on other cases.

Federal prosecutors in New York brought sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019, but he committed suicide in prison after his arrest.

Democrats see a cover-up, not an effort to protect victims

But Democratic lawmakers on Sunday criticized Trump and the Justice Department, demanding a partial release.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, said the Justice Department is obstructing implementation of the law requiring the release of documents not because it wants to protect Epstein’s victims.

“It’s all about covering up things that Donald Trump, for whatever reason, doesn’t want to make public, whether regarding himself or other members of his family or his friends or Jeffrey Epstein, or just the social, business and cultural network in which he has been involved for at least a decade, if not longer,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Blanche also defended the department’s decision to remove several files related to the case from its public website, including a photo featuring Trump, less than a day after it was posted.

Read more: At least 16 files disappear from the Justice Department’s website of Epstein documents, including a photo of Trump

The missing files, which were available on Friday but were no longer accessible by Saturday, included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one showed a series of images along the credenza and in drawers. In that photo, inside a drawer among others, was a photo of Trump, along with Epstein, Melania Trump, and Epstein’s longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Blanche said the documents were removed because they also showed Epstein’s victims. Blanche said Trump’s photo and other documents will be reposted once redactions are made to protect survivors.

“It has nothing to do with President Trump,” Blanche said. “There are dozens of photos of President Trump that have already been released to the public of him with Mr. Epstein.”

The thousands of publicly released records related to Epstein provide the most detailed look yet at nearly two decades of government scrutiny into Epstein’s sexual abuse of young women and underage girls. However, Friday’s release, riddled with redactions, did not dampen the clamor for information given the number of records yet to be made public and because some of the material has already been made public.

Blanche says the Justice Department has just learned of the names of more potential victims

Blanche said the department continues to review the collection of documents and has learned of the names of additional potential victims in recent days.

The deputy attorney general also defended the decision by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which Blanche oversees, to transfer Maxwell to a less restrictive, minimum-security federal prison earlier this year shortly after her interview about Epstein. Blanche said the transfer was made due to concerns about her safety.

Epstein’s former girlfriend, Maxwell, is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for a 2021 conviction for sex trafficking crimes.

“She had many, many threats against her life,” Blanche said. “So the Bureau of Prisons is not only responsible for putting people in prison and making sure they stay in prison, but also for their safety.”

Meanwhile, Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., have indicated they may draft articles of impeachment against Attorney General Pam Bondi over what they view as the department’s egregious failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

“It’s not about the timeline, it’s about selective concealment,” Khanna said on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” adding that the redactions in the files released were excessive. He said he believes there will be “bipartisan support for holding her accountable, and a congressional committee must determine whether or not these redactions are justified.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said on ABC’s “This Week” that there should be “a full and complete explanation and then a full and complete investigation into why the production of the document failed to do what the law clearly requires,” but he stopped short of supporting impeachment.

Blanche rejected the impeachment talk.

“Bring it,” said Blanche. “We are doing everything we are supposed to do to comply with this statute.”

Gomez Lacon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.