DOJ reviewing if Epstein files with Trump allegations were wrongly withheld
Perry Stein
washington: The U.S. Department of Justice is examining whether it mistakenly withheld FBI files containing allegations against President Donald Trump while releasing millions of pages from its investigative files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Three summaries of FBI interviews with a woman who accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in 2019 are missing from the files, multiple news outlets reported. The woman accused Trump of sexually assaulting her decades ago when she was a minor. No evidence has been made public to corroborate this accusation.
The existence of the summaries, known as 302s in law enforcement parlance, was noted in an index the Justice Department included in a cache of files released over the past three months in response to the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Index claimed that law enforcement interviewed the woman four times and wrote a summary in each case. Only one of the four summaries appeared in the publication.
The summaries were among the materials prosecutors gave to defense attorneys as part of the discovery process leading up to the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, an Epstein accomplice who was convicted on sex trafficking charges in 2021.
Independent journalist Roger Sollenberger first reported on the missing files. The woman who accused Trump also said that Epstein assaulted her when she was a minor in the 1980s. In one account in the files, federal officials wrote that the woman said Epstein introduced her to Trump and that Trump assaulted her.
FBI agents frequently file 302s in cases that never result in charges, and the charges here are often considered unproven allegations.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing regarding Epstein.
“Many individuals and news outlets have recently flagged files relating to documents submitted to Ghislaine Maxwell for discovery of the criminal case in which they claim she is missing,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
“As with all publicly flagged documents, the ministry is currently reviewing files in this production category. If during the review process any document is found to be improperly tagged and is lawful, the ministry will of course publish it in a lawful manner.”
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to two charges of promoting prostitution, including one involving a minor. He was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges in 2019 and died in federal custody later that year. His death was ruled a suicide. Judges and lawmakers say he exploited, trafficked and harassed scores of girls for decades; many of these come to the fore in court and other public forums.
Trump had a long-standing friendship with Epstein. He said he knew Epstein socially in Palm Beach, Florida, and that they had a falling out in the mid-2000s. Trump maintained that he was unaware of Epstein’s criminal behavior.
The incomplete summaries gave Democrats the opportunity to reassert their claims that the Justice Department improperly withheld documents to protect Trump.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer on Thursday (US time) accused US Attorney General Pam Bondi of covering up possible wrongdoing. He and other Senate Democrats have said they plan to review an unredacted version of the files the Justice Department gave them permission to do.
“They are misusing redactions to hide the truth,” Schumer said. “We will expose this massive cover-up… we will cover every issue.”
Justice Department officials said they did not withhold any information to protect powerful people, including Trump. Trump is mentioned more than 1,000 times throughout the released files. Just because he is mentioned in numerous investigative documents does not constitute a criminal offence.
Congress passed the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act in November, and Trump signed it into law, giving the Justice Department until Dec. 19 to release the files. The department struggled to embrace the massive project and find an orderly way to make the files publicly available.
The Ministry published the first part of the documents on December 19. On January 30, authorities released an additional 3 million pages of the Epstein files, which was expected to be the final release.
The law requires the disclosure of all files related to Epstein, except for material that could jeopardize the ongoing investigation, reveal the identity of the victim, or constitute child sexual exploitation material.
In a letter accompanying the latest release of the files, Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Blanche said the department had withheld or redacted nearly 200,000 pages it determined were within legal privilege, including some related to internal Justice Department discussions. The ministry also withheld numerous documents that it said were copies of those released.
The published documents provide that A comprehensive look at the evidence the department collected in its effort to prosecute Epstein, a politically connected financier.
To review the millions of pages, authorities sent hundreds of lawyers from across the Justice Department for weeks to review files and redact information that could identify victims. The effort required significant time and personnel resources from the department and pulled back top prosecutors from Washington, Florida and New York.
But in many cases, authorities omitted identifying information about victims and apparently deleted or withheld files that should have been released. The Ministry of Justice said that it has established an e-mail account for people who identify or delete victim information to report this situation, so that ministry officials can review this information and make changes if necessary. Authorities are reviewing potentially missing interviews about Trump during this process.
Washington Post
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