DOJ admits to removing nearly 48,000 Epstein files from database, including Trump allegations
The Department of Justice removed 47,635 files from the publicly available database of Jeffrey Epstein case files, including various claims against President Donald Trump.
Links to the offline files now return a “page not found” error on the department’s website. DOJ spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre told CBS News that they have “not deleted any files from the library” and that the files will be available after “redactions are made.”
“Our team is working around the clock to address victim concerns, redact personally identifiable information and any images of a sexual nature,” she said in a statement.
The removed files related to Trump were first discovered in a Feb. 24 investigation by NPR. The outlet found several documents that were withheld centered on an FBI investigation into claims that Trump sexually abused a minor in the 1980s.
The DOJ said many of the offline files will be reuploaded by the end of the week, but it is unclear if the pages related to this investigation and other tips against Trump will be reentered into the database.
In a press conference on Friday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the case files total 6 million pages. Blanche said that the files they did not publish were withheld to protect survivors and avoid interference with ongoing investigations. However, some lawmakers who reviewed the unredacted files claim they found withheld information that didn’t meet that criteria.
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During their review, Epstein Files Transparency Act co-sponsors Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., initially found the names of six wealthy men were not in the public database.
“If we found six men that they were hiding in two hours, imagine how many men they are covering up for in those 3 million files,” Khanna said last month.
Files related to those men, including retail billionaire Les Wexner, have since been uploaded to the database.
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