by Amy Goodman, The Unz Review:
The Justice Department on Friday released an additional 3 million pages of documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Trump administration says it was the final release of Epstein files, even though some 2 million more documents remain unreleased. The latest batch reveals new details about Epstein’s connections to the rich and powerful, including Hollywood figures, tech billionaires, public officials and more. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said it is unlikely anyone else would be prosecuted.
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Attorney Arick Fudali, who represents 11 Epstein survivors, says the release of the files has been a “perfect storm” of “incompetency and an active cover-up” by the Trump administration. “It’s so mind-boggling, because they’re withholding documents that they shouldn’t be withholding … but, on the other hand, they’re showing documents that they shouldn’t be showing because they contain unredacted names of survivors,” says Fudali.
Investigative journalist Vicky Ward, who has covered the Epstein case for many years, says despite the flawed release of the files, they continue to shine light on a world of elite impunity and excess. “We just see over and over again in these documents, this was just one big billionaires boys club that treated women like objects,” says Ward.
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman.
The Justice Department has released an additional 3 million pages of documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in what the DOJ, the Department of Justice, is calling the final release of Epstein files. But there are over two-and-a-half million more pages that remain unreleased.
On Sunday, Meet the Press host Kristen Welker interviewed Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna of California, co-sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
KRISTEN WELKER: Has the Justice Department fully complied with the law, Congressman?
REP. RO KHANNA: No, they haven’t. They’ve released, at best, half the documents. But even those shock the conscience of this country. I mean, you have some of the most wealthy individuals, tech leaders, finance leaders, politicians, all implicated in some way, having emails about wanting to go to Epstein’s island, knowing that Epstein was a pedophile. It’s, frankly, one of the largest scandals, in my view, in our country’s history, and there is a demand for elite accountability. But the survivors’ lawyers that I’ve talked to have said that the survivors are still upset. They’re upset that many of their names accidentally came out without redactions, and they want to make sure the rest of the files come out.
AMY GOODMAN: The New York Times reports the new files include 5,300 files containing more than 38,000 references to Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Mar-a-Lago and other related words. Many of the references are news articles about Trump, but the new files also include an FBI document that summarizes allegations made against Trump by people who had called the FBI’s Threat Operations Center tip line.
The documents also reveal new details about Epstein’s connections to the rich and powerful across the world. In one email, Elon Musk asked Epstein, quote, “What day/night will be the wildest party on [your] island?” unquote. Virgin [Group] founder Richard Branson sent Epstein an email in 2013 saying he wanted to see him again, quote, “as long as you bring your harem,” unquote. Emails show Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick arranged to visit Epstein’s island in 2012, years after Lutnick had claimed he’d cut off ties with Epstein.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said it’s unlikely anyone else will be prosecuted.
A group of Epstein survivors criticized how the DOJ had handled the release. In a statement, the survivors said, quote, “This latest release of Jeffrey Epstein files is being sold as transparency, but what it actually does is expose survivors. As survivors, we should never be the ones named, scrutinized, and retraumatized while Epstein’s enablers continue to benefit from secrecy. This is a betrayal of the very people this process is supposed to serve,” unquote.
