Top Trump administration official defends partial release of Epstein files as Democrats cry foul

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

Blanche pledged that the Trump administration eventually would meet its obligation required by law. But he stressed that the department was obligated to act with caution as it goes about making public thousands of documents that can include sensitive information.

 

Friday’s partial release of the Epstein files has led to a new crush of criticism from Democrats who have accused the Republican administration of trying to hide information.

Blanche called that pushback disingenuous as President Donald Trump’s administration continues to struggle with calls for greater 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 why we are still reviewing documents and still continuing our process is simply that to protect victims,” Blanche told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “So the same individuals that are out there complaining about the lack of documents that were produced on Friday are the same individuals who apparently don’t want us to protect victims.”

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

Trump, who was friends with Epstein for years before the two had a falling-out, tried for months to keep the records sealed. Though Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, he has argued there is nothing to see in the files and that the public should focus on other issues.

Federal prosecutors in New York brought sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019, but he killed himself in jail after his arrest.

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

But Democratic lawmakers on Sunday hammered Trump and the Justice Department for a partial release.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., argued that the Justice Department is obstructing the implementation of the law mandating the release of the documents not because it wants to protect the Epstein victims.

“It’s all about covering up things that, for whatever reason, Donald Trump doesn’t want to go public, either about himself, other members of his family, friends, Jeffrey Epstein, or just the social, business, cultural network that he was involved in 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 webpage, including a photograph showing Trump, less than a day after they were posted.

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

Blanche said the documents were removed because they also showed victims of Epstein. Blanche said that Trump photo and the 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 already released to the public seeing him with Mr. Epstein.”

The thousands of Epstein-related records posted publicly offer the most detailed look yet at nearly two decades worth of government scrutiny of Epstein’s sexual abuse of young women and underage girls. Yet Friday’s release, replete with redactions, has not dulled the clamor for information given how many records had yet to be released and because some of the materials had already been made public.

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

Blanche said that the department continues to review the trove of documents and has learned 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 soon after he interviewed her about Epstein. Blanche said that the transfer was made because of concerns about her safety.

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

“She was suffering numerous and numerous threats against her life,” Blanche said. “So the BOP is not only responsible for putting people in jail and making sure they stay in jail, but also for their safety.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., have indicated they could draft articles of impeachment against Attorney General Pam Bondi for what they see as the gross failure of the department to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

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

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said on ABC’s “This Week” that there needs “to be a full and complete explanation and then a full and complete investigation as to why the document production has fallen short of what the law clearly required,” but he stopped short of backing impeachment.

Blanche dismissed the impeachment talk.

“Bring it on,” Blanche said. “We are doing everything we’re supposed to be doing to comply with this statute.”

Other reading:  At least 16 files have disappeared from the DOJ webpage for documents related to Jeffrey Epstein

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Gómez Licón reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.