"The Department of Justice redacted the names of government officials and politically exposed individuals in its latest release of files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Department of Justice posted documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act on its website Friday afternoon in accordance with the midnight deadline set by the statute signed into law by President Donald Trump last month. Many viewers reacted with disgust over the amount of blacked-out information within the almost four thousand files, despite Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's claim that the administration was attempting to protect every single victim."
"Blanche claims that blacked-out information included any evidence that could jeopardize pending investigations and any information deemed to be in the interest of national defense or foreign policy. Further information could be redacted if it fell under legally protected privilege. Information that may pertain to Attorney General Pam Bondi's recently opened investigation into Epstein's past associations could seemingly be redacted under these restrictions. This crucial distinction relating to the information actually released comes amid a wave of outrage over the lack of transparency in the files."
The Department of Justice released thousands of documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act by the statute's midnight deadline. The release contained extensive redactions, with names and identifiers of victims removed and the same standards applied to politically exposed individuals and government officials. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that redactions protected victims and any evidence that could jeopardize pending investigations, national defense, or foreign policy interests, as well as legally privileged material. The scope of redactions prompted public outrage and drew criticism from lawmakers who sponsored the release bill, who said the documents failed to meet the law's requirements.
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