Topline
The FBI is directing some agents to set aside other work and prioritize redacting files related to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for release, multiple outlets reported Saturday, as pressure mounts after last month’s file release was largely considered a dud with little new information.
The FBI is reportedly directing agents to prioritizing redacting Epstein files. (Photo by Beata … More
NurPhoto via Getty ImagesKey Facts
Some FBI agents are working around the clock in 12-hour shifts to speed up the process of redacting files related to Epstein, with some pausing other work—including investigating threats from China and Iran—to work on the files, CNN reported Saturday.
The Wall Street Journal reported FBI staffers were told to limit redactions to just a victim’s name and personally identifiable information, leaving other information—like details about witnesses and a victim’s relatives—public, which the Journal reported has worried employees that victims may be identifiable through these unredacted details.
Some agents working on redactions have no experience redacting sensitive information, the Journal reported.
Current and former FBI employees told the Journal the Epstein redaction process is a “break from normal procedures designed to safeguard sensitive witness and victim information.”
The FBI told the Wall Street Journal it has “prioritized transparency with the Epstein files” and “all appropriate administrative and legal requirements are being adhered to.”
Forbes has reached out to the FBI for comment.
When Will More Epstein Files Be Released?
It’s unclear. Attorney General Pam Bondi has promised for weeks more Epstein files will be released, but neither she nor the FBI have provided a specific timeline. Bondi said last week she had received a “truckload” of new documents relating to Epstein—which she had previously accused the FBI of withholding from the Department of Justice—and said FBI Director Kash Patel would give her a “deadline on when he can go through [the documents] to protect, of course, the victims of sex trafficking.”
Is There A So-Called “epstein List”—and What Would Be On It?
No, there is no evidence pointing to the existence of an “Epstein list,” which conspiracy theorists believe contains the names of Epstein’s clients and associates who may have participated in, or known about, his crimes. Julie K. Brown, the Miami Herald reporter who exposed legal efforts to keep Epstein out of jail, said there is no such list, calling it a “figment of the internet’s imagination” and a “means to slander people.”
Key Background
The Justice Department released what it said was the “first phase” of documents related to Epstein in February, though the release was widely criticized by both parties as a dud as most of the information was already public—prompting accusations the release was a political stunt. The Justice Department gave several popular right-wing influencers binders, which read, “The Epstein Files: Phase I,” at the White House, a release strategy that also sparked some criticism. The Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats slammed Bondi last week, accusing her of “SITTING on the Epstein files” and questioned why neither she nor Patel have moved quicker to release more documents. Right-wing politicians and influencers—including President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Patel and Bondi—had talked up releasing the files in the lead up to the 2024 election. Trump, who was named in Epstein’s flight logs from the 1990s but has not been linked to his crimes and stated he has “never been to his island,” told podcaster Lex Fridmann in an interview he would be “inclined” to release documents related to Epstein upon winning the 2024 election.
Further Reading
Attorney General Bondi Again Says More Epstein Files Are Coming—But Doesn’t Give Timeline (Forbes)
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