Survivors of Epstein’s abuse condemn justice department for only partly releasing files

Representatives for victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein condemned the US Department of Justice on Friday for only partially releasing investigative documents while at least one survivor said she felt “redeemed” by the documents.The documents were released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which mandated the disclosures by 19 December. The law allows for records to be withheld if they threaten current investigations, disrupt national security or identify Epstein’s victims.The initial disclosure, however, did not appear to be in keeping with this law. Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, said the justice department would not release all its files on Friday, despite the deadline and the files published on Friday afternoon did not appear to be comprehensive. “I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks,” Blanche said in an Fox News interview.Top lawmakers responded by threatening legal action “in the face of this violation of federal law”.Spencer Kuvin, an attorney representing Epstein survivors, said in a statement after the release that it was “no great surprise” the justice department was failing to meet the deadline.“Unfortunately, the Department of Justice has dragged its feet regarding these documents for the last 18 years so the victims don’t expect much by way of openness or honesty,” Kuvin said. “These young women have been lied to and repeatedly denied justice by system that was meant to protect them. The public need to demand more and continue to require accountability.”Gloria Allred, a lawyer who has represented more than 20 Epstein survivors, told CNN after the disclosures that the justice department had repeatedly failed victims.“There was resistance by this administration to releasing the Epstein files,” she said. “The question is, is there a coverup. What are they hiding? What is in there that perhaps some powerful people would not like revealed? … Survivors are fighting to have the release of all the files [because] they want accountability. If there are rich, powerful, famous men who engaged in or assisted in or conspired to sex traffic underage girls, they want to know who those people are. They want to know what the evidence against them was.”Jess Michaels, an Epstein survivor who has been pushing for the disclosures, said on MS Now that she was “highly emotional”, but glad the justice department’s obfuscations were now so apparent to the public: “I’m also feeling strangely validated, because in plain sight, and even with an act of Congress, we’re seeing the exact same delays, negligence, corruption, incompetence that we’ve seen consistently and have been advocating about. So they’ve actually proved our point.”However, Jennifer Freeman, an attorney representing Maria Farmer, an Epstein survivor, said in an email shortly after the files were published that the fact that some of them were finally being made public was a day of “triumph and tragedy for Maria and so many survivors”.The records, she said, confirmed that Farmer had reported the crimes of Epstein and his confidante, Ghislaine Maxwell, to the FBI in 1996.“Had the government done their job, and properly investigated Maria’s report, over 1,000 victims could have been spared and 30 years of trauma avoided,” Farmer said. “After several years of asking for her records, the government finally released at least some of them today.” Freeman highlighted a document from the files that she said verified Farmer’s original complaint.On CNN, Freeman read a statement on behalf of Farmer, saying: “Thank you for believing me. I feel redeemed. This is one of the best days of my life. Of course, it’s mixed with the fact that I’m devastated about all the other girls … who were harmed because the FBI didn’t do their job … I’m shedding tears of joy for myself, but also tears of sorrow for all the victims.”Farmer, an artist, was among the first to report Epstein and Maxwell of sexual crimes in the 1990s.Trump signed the legislation mandating the Epstein file disclosures after months of waffling in his support of releasing these files. While Trump had vowed to release these files on the campaign trail, his justice department repeatedly failed to deliver on this promise, largely releasing documents that had already been in the public domain.The justice department faced backlash when it announced in July that there was no Epstein client list and claimed: “While we have labored to provide the public with maximum information regarding Epstein and ensured examination of any evidence in the government’s possession, it is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.”The Wall Street Journal reported that the president’s name was in these files at multiple points. Trump has denied any knowledge of, or involvement in, Epstein’s crimes, and has emphatically denied any wrongdoing.“It’s not news that Epstein was a member of the Mar-a-Lago club, because it’s the same club Donald Trump kicked Epstein out of for being a creep,” the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, previously said. “These stories are tired and pathetic attempts to distract from all the success of President Trump’s administration.”Lauren Hersh, national director of anti-trafficking non-profit World Without Exploitation, said prior to the disclosures: “There are hundreds of thousands of files to go through – which speaks to how horrendous the Epstein crimes truly are.”“We want to make certain that our government is operating in good faith, making sure that survivors are shielded, those who have caused harm are exposed and the wheels of justice move swiftly,” Hersh added. “It’s long overdue for the public to see the depths of pain and injustice.”