As the first documents dump seems to have been sanitised FOR Trump’s benefit?
Whisper’s of a ‘Cover Up’ FOR Trump are simmering ….
Financial records, internal memos from prosecutors who investigated Epstein’s alleged sex-trafficking ring, key material obtained from the searches of Epstein’s palatial homes — none of it figured prominently in the documents released Friday.
Interested in records that would help explain how Epstein grew so wealthy? None to be found.
Want to read emails from federal prosecutors deciding who to charge — and, equally importantly, who not to charge — during their 2019 investigation? You’re out of luck.
Curious about the role of Maurene Comey, the prosecutor who co-led the probes into Epstein and his co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, before being fired without explanation in July? Nothing from her to see here.
The department was obligated by law to release the entire universe of documents related to Epstein, the late convicted sex offender, and Maxwell, who was convicted of aiding and participating in his sex-trafficking ring, by Friday. The tranche made public represented only a fraction of the total material, which the government has said exceeds 300 gigabytes worth of data and physical evidence.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, estimated the production included only about 10 percent of the material in the department’s possession.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche promised Friday there’s more to come, saying “additional responsive materials will be produced as our review continues, consistent with the law and with protections for victims.” The department hasn’t provided guidance as to when it plans to release more documents, although Blanche indicated in a letter to Congress that production will be complete by the end of the year…
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But most of the material disclosed Friday had either already been made public, was heavily redacted or simply didn’t advance the public understanding of the many mysteries surrounding the Epstein saga….
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Many of those pushing for the release of the files expressed dismay and frustration with the outcome.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), one of the sponsors of the bill ordering the department to make the documents public, told reporters he was disappointed in the quantity of files made public by the Justice Department and pushed for federal officials to set out a clear timeline for the release of all remaining documents.
Khanna said lawmakers could eventually explore impeachment proceedings for Blanche and Attorney General Pam Bondi or even refer Justice Department officials for criminal prosecution if they’ve engaged in excessive redaction or tampering….
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And Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer slammed the disclosure. “Simply releasing a mountain of blacked out pages violates the spirit of transparency and the letter of the law,” he said in a statement. “For example, all 119 pages of one document were completely blacked out.
We need answers as to why….
More on the missing things from the data dump……
At least 16 files on the Justice Department’s (DOJ) webpage containing files on Jeffrey Epstein,including a photo featuring two pictures of President Trump, were found to have disappeared from the department’s website as of Saturday, The Associated Press reported.
DOJ has not said why these files were removed from its website. The Hill has reached out to DOJ for comment.
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Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) slammed the Trump administration for not releasing all the files in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, of which Massie sponsored. The law stated that DOJ had 30 days to release all the files and also redact the names and identities of victims and individuals possibly under investigation.
The Kentucky Republican fired off several criticisms before asking followers on the social platform X to compare the text in the Epstein Files Transparency Act to DOJ’s letter to Congress sent on Friday about asserting their privilege to redact some of the files’ materials….
Media having a picnic beating the Trump Epstein data scrubs
Update….
Epstein files: The Justice Department reposted an image containing a photo of President Trump that it had removed from an online collection of files on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The department said it reposted the image on Sunday after it was re-examined and found not to contain images of Mr. Epstein’s victims. Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, said earlier that department officials were “not redacting information around President Trump.” Read more ›
(This does mean that media and others DO KNOW EVERYTHING in the files, eh?)
Two lawmakers seek to find Bondi in contempt over Epstein files
Top Justice Department official defends redactions and deletion of documents on agency’s website, including one of a photo that includes Trump.
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-California) and Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) said Sunday that they will seek to find Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt of Congress for not releasing more documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Bondi’s top aide, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, said in an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he didn’t take their threats seriously.
Khanna and Massie wrote legislation that passed Congress nearly unanimously and was signed by President Donald Trump last month requiring the Justice Department to release a trove of Epstein files in its possession within 30 days. The agency has released more than 100,000 pages of documents so far, some of which have been heavily redacted.