Attorney General Pam Bondi has acknowledged that errors occurred in the process of releasing the Epstein files, including mistakes in redaction, as stated in a letter.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) made three and a half million documents available to the public concerning the case. This collection contained a significant amount of redacted information, such as names, contact details, and images, but 7,000 documents have been flagged for further examination.
In her letter to federal judges, Bondi voiced concerns from victims who claim that their information was erroneously included in the files.
As a result, the Justice Department ‘has temporarily removed thousands of documents from the DOJ Epstein Library for further review — including approximately 9,500 documents subject to the Protective Orders in the Maxwell case,’ she explained.
“Based on a sampling of documents for purposes of preparing this letter, there are instances where redactions appear to have been inadvertently missed despite what is clearly a robust effort by the reviewer,” the DOJ conveyed in a letter to federal judges.
Bondi attributed the issues to human errors, technical problems, and DOJ staff’s challenges in effectively searching text.
She noted that they have discovered ‘new victims and new identifiers (such as nicknames, email addresses, and family names’ in the documents that were released.
Democratic Representative Ro Khanna from California and GOP Representative Thomas Massie from Kentucky, both advocates for the release of the files, have requested access to the unredacted files for examination.
“The DOJ has protected the Epstein class with blanket redactions in some areas while failing to protect the identities of survivors in other areas,” Khanna stated to CNN. “Congress cannot properly assess DOJ’s handling of the Epstein and Maxwell cases without access to the complete record.”
Congress had enacted a law in November mandating the Justice Department to make its unclassified records public within 30 days, ensuring the redaction of victims’ information.
Ultimately, the DOJ missed the initial 30-day deadline by six weeks, leaving some victim information exposed.
Bondi’s letter detailed the DOJ’s efforts to ensure victim safety.
“The Department has made, and continues to make, substantial progress in identifying, reviewing, and redacting potential victim-identifying information both independently and in coordination with victims and their counsel,” she stated.