DOJ Explains Why 47K Epstein Files Are 'Offline'

Nearly 50,000 files tied to Jeffrey Epstein, including some mentioning President Trump, are missing from public view—because the Justice Department says it's still reviewing them. The Wall Street Journal reports that the withheld material includes FBI interview notes from 2019 in which a woman, whose name is redacted, accused Trump of sexual misconduct when she was a minor in the 1980s. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and argued that the already-released Epstein records "totally exonerated" him. The woman's claims have not been verified, and she was previously ruled ineligible for the Epstein Victims' Compensation Program, which paid out to more than 130 people.

An FBI report from an interview in which the woman claimed Epstein abused her in South Carolina in the 1980s was released in January, but three other reports from interviews that contained references to Trump were not shared, even as many other unproven witness accounts were made public under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Other outlets, including NPR and the Guardian, have also reported on missing files mentioning Trump. After the Journal found apparent gaps in the online release, a DOJ spokesperson said 47,635 files had been kept offline "for further review" and were expected to be posted after redactions, possibly as soon as the end of this week.

The department insists it has not held back material to spare Trump or other public figures embarrassment, something the law explicitly forbids. Officials, who are checking whether any documents were misclassified as part of the review process, say many of the withheld records include nudity or sensitive personal information that must be removed before publication. However, an administration official tells the Guardian that the missing interview reports containing "non-credible accusations" against Trump were listed by reviewers as duplicate files, which aren't required to be released. Democrats in Congress say they plan to investigate the handling of the records, though interest in the topic has fallen since "bombs started raining down on Iran," per Al Jazeera. Some argue that's the point.