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Epstein files: Justice Deptt releases final tranche of over 3 million pages, says ‘did not protect Trump’

Epstein files: Justice Deptt releases final tranche of over 3 million pages, says ‘did not protect Trump’

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the justice department did not protect Trump in release of Epstein files. Photograph: (AFP)

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Deputy AG Todd Blanche said that the images and videos made public include “significant redactions” to protect survivors of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. The justice department redacted every woman depicted in any image or video, with the exception of Glaine Maxwell, he added.

The US Justice Department released more Epstein files on Friday, including over 3 million pages, videos, and images. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told media in a news conference on Friday that the Justice Department is releasing more than 3 million pages of records related to its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and that the department did not protect Trump in release of Epstein files. Blanche said that the release includes more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, and was the final tranche.

In total, the Trump administration has produced roughly 3.5 million pages as part of its efforts to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, he added.

‘Release marks the end of review progress on Epstein files’

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“Today we are producing more than 3 million pages on Epstein files, including 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. These include large quantities of commercial pornography and images seized from Epstein’s devices. Some of the videos and images released do appear to be taken by Epstein,” Blanche said.

“We collected 6 million pages on Epstein files. We did not protect Trump in the release of Epstein files. The release today marks the end of review progress on Epstein files,” he added.

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“Today’s release marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people and compliance with the act,” Blanche said. “The department has engaged in an unprecedented and extensive effort to do so.”

‘Images and videos made public include significant redactions’

Blanche said that the images and videos made public will include “significant redactions” to protect survivors of Epstein's crimes.

“We redacted every woman depicted in any image or video, with the exception of Maxwell,” he said. “We did not redact images of any man, unless it was impossible to redact the woman without also redacting the man.”

“There’s a hunger or a thirst for information that I do not think will be satisfied by the review of these documents and…there’s nothing I can do about that,” Blanche said.

“There’s this built in assumption that somehow there’s this hidden tranche of information of men that we know about, that we’re covering up, or that we’re choosing not to prosecute. That is not the case. I don’t know whether there are men out there that abuse these women. If we learn about information and evidence that allows us to prosecute them, you better believe we will,” he added.

“But I don’t think that the public or you all are going to uncover men within the Epstein files that abuse women, unfortunately.”

‘DOJ submitting final report to Congress, providing written justifications for redactions’

He said that the Justice Department is submitting a final report to Congress and providing written justifications for redactions, which will be published in the Federal Register. Once those requirements are met, the Justice Department obligations under the Epstein Files Transparency Act “will be completed,” he said.

The Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump last year, required the Justice Department to disclose all of its unclassified material related to its investigation into Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell by Dec. 19.

The Justice Department has so far released more than 100,000 pages of material, which have included photos, videos, court records and emails, among other documents. But Attorney General Pam Bondi and Blanche said earlier this month that the department was still reviewing more than 2 million documents that it had to make public under the law.

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Anuj Shrivastava

Anuj Shrivastava is a Senior News Editor at WION Digital with over 20 years of experience across publishing, print, and digital media. He’s passionate about news, has a penchant fo...Read More