Several women who were victimized by deceased child predator Jeffrey Epstein are now accusing President Donald Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) of publicizing their identifying information on purpose.
That's according to a Wednesday article in the Wall Street Journal, which reported that the DOJ failed to redact of dozens of women's names from emails it received from Epstein's estate. One spokeswoman for the House Oversight Committee — which released the emails earlier this month — said the committee's subpoena specifically instructs the DOJ to redact victims' names, though one document shows the full names of 28 victims.
"Many of the victims believe this is being done intentionally," wrote attorneys Bradley Edwards and Brittany Henderson, who represent hundreds of Epstein's accusers.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman (who former President Bill Clinton appointed to the Southern District of New York in 1998) ordered the DOJ to provide him with its privacy process, including how it makes redactions to protect victims. Berman, who presided over Epstein's 2019 criminal case until he died in prison, is tasked with approving requests to unseal documents relating to the case.
"Our request is simply that the identity of all victims be protected," attorneys for victims wrote in a letter that Berman attached to his decision. "These women are not political pawns. They are mothers, wives, and daughters."
Last week, Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law, which compels the DOJ to publish all remaining documents and evidence pertaining to Epstein's two federal criminal investigations. The law requires the DOJ release the documents within a 30-day window, and gives Attorney General Pam Bondi the discretion to redact both the names of victims and anything that could jeopardize an ongoing investigation.
Attorneys for the victims have reportedly provided the DOJ with a list of approximately 300 names in order to ensure all victims' personal information is redacted. FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly authorized nearly $1 million in overtime expenditures earlier this year on having roughly 1,000 agents redact the full Epstein files. Agents were reportedly told to flag all mentions of Trump in the files. The effort was known as the "Epstein Transparency Project" (which some referred to derisively as the "special redaction project").
Click here to read the Journal's article in its entirety (subscription required).