Lawmakers accuse Pam Bondi of ‘purposefully mudding’ record of names related to Epstein in new DOJ letter | EUROtoday

Lawmakers who pushed the Department of Justice to launch the Epstein information are dissatisfied with its newest disclosure of high-profile names talked about within the three million paperwork, believing the DOJ is being purposefully obscure to guard these with shut ties to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Saturday night, the DOJ despatched a six-page letter to Congress, together with the names of celebrities, politicians, businesspeople and extra who have been talked about at the very least as soon as within the information. But the intensive record failed to clarify how the individuals are linked to the pedophile financier and his fellow offender.

Names ranged from President Donald Trump, who was as soon as mates with Epstein however ceased communication earlier than his 2008 Florida conviction, to apparently unrelated figures whose names occur to have been talked about, like Marilyn Monroe, the Hollywood star who died when Epstein was 9 years outdated, and the singer Janis Joplin, who died in 1970.

“The DOJ is once again purposefully muddying the waters on who was a predator and who was mentioned in an email,” Rep. Ro Khanna, one of many lawmakers main the trouble, stated on X.

“To have Janis Joplin, who died when Epstein was 17, in the same list as Larry Nassar, who went to prison for the sexual abuse of hundreds of young women and child pornography, with no clarification of how either was mentioned in the files is absurd,” Khanna added.

Khanna referred to as on the DOJ to “stop protecting predators” and launch all of the information with solely the names of survivors redacted.

The Independent has requested the Justice Department for remark.

The letter, which was required per the Epstein Files Transparency Act, was despatched to members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated the division had “released ‘all records, documents, communications and investigative materials in possession of the Department’ that relate to’ Epstein,” signaling it will be the ultimate launch.

It listed names of “politically exposed persons” named at the very least as soon as. However, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche famous that the lawmakers by no means outlined what meaning.

As a end result, names equivalent to Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin, Cher, Beyonce and different notable celebrities are listed as a result of they’re talked about in emails. But that doesn’t imply the people had any reference to, and even knew, Epstein.

Current lawmakers, who might have been talked about within the DOJ’s press briefings or FBI every day information emails, are additionally talked about.

“So one loser sends another loser a NEWS ARTICLE with my name in it and the cover up clan at the DOJ wants to put me in the same drawer as Donald Trump,” Rep. Eric Swalwell wrote on X.

Other lawmakers joined the decision for extra disclosures, regardless of the DOJ signalling that the latest three-million-document dump is the ultimate launch of the Epstein information.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, who has additionally helped lead the trouble for transparency on Epstein, stated that the Justice Department is “missing names” on the record. She additionally promised to push for extra disclosures.

“I want to be abundantly clear about the DOJ memo released tonight: Citing ‘Work Product Privilege’ will NOT save the DOJ from releasing all the Epstein files,” Mace wrote.

“If they can give the names, then they can give them in unredacted files. The list is an admission that they can remove those redactions,” she added.

“Not buying this at all and Americans shouldn’t either. I went to the ‘unredacted’ files yesterday and HUNDREDS of pages are still completely blacked out,” Rep. Laura Friedman stated on X.

Although greater than three million paperwork have been launched, officers initially indicated six million information may very well be launched. Some paperwork are being withheld as a result of they meet the standards laid out by Congress within the act – equivalent to defending the medical privateness of victims, containing pictures or descriptions of kid sexual abuse, being concerned in an ongoing prosecution, or different reasoning.

Members of Congress, equivalent to Khanna and his co-sponsor on the Epstein information push, Rep. Thomas Massie, have seen the unredacted model of the information on the DOJ. They’ve accused Bondi and different officers of purposefully redacting the names of highly effective people to guard them from prosecution.

No particular person talked about on the record has been charged with a criminal offense related to Epstein and Maxwell’s crimes, apart from the 2 themselves. Being named within the Epstein information doesn’t imply an individual participated in, and even knew of, Epstein and Maxwell’s crimes.

Epstein died by suicide whereas awaiting trial in a New York jail in 2019, whereas Maxwell is serving a 20-year jail sentence for intercourse trafficking offenses.