US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the Justice Department’s decision to release just a fraction of the Jeffrey Epstein files by the congressionally mandated deadline as necessary to protect survivors of sexual abuse by the disgraced financier.
Blanche pledged that the Trump administration eventually would meet its obligation required by law. However, he stressed that the department was obliged to act with caution as it goes about making public thousands of documents that can include sensitive information.
Friday’s partial release of the Epstein files has led to a new crush of criticism from Democrats who have accused the Republican administration of trying to hide information.
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Blanche called that pushback disingenuous as US President Donald Trump’s administration continues to struggle with calls for greater transparency, including from members of his political base, about the government’s investigations into Epstein, who once counted Trump as well as several political leaders and business titans among his peers.
“The reason why we are still reviewing documents and still continuing our process is simply that to protect victims,” Blanche told NBC’s Meet the Press programme. “So the same individuals that are out there complaining about the lack of documents that were produced on Friday are the same individuals who apparently don’t want us to protect victims.”
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Blanche’s comments were the most extensive by the administration since the file dump, which included photographs, interview transcripts, call logs, court records and other documents. But some of the most consequential records expected about Epstein were nowhere to be found, such as FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) interviews with survivors and internal Justice Department memos examining charging decisions. Those records could help explain how investigators viewed the case and why Epstein was allowed in 2008 to plead guilty to a relatively minor state-level prostitution charge.