The Epstein files release failed the survivors twice

The latest release of the Epstein files dumped more than 3 million files at the end of January, bringing forth shocking allegations and ample evidence of revolting behavior among the world’s richest and most powerful people — from Bill Gates to former Prince Andrew, and from Elon Musk to Jeff Bezos to the oft-mentioned President Donald Trump. While being named in the files is not a crime in itself, the accusations are concerning enough that many wonder why prosecutions aren’t forthcoming.

Across Europe, the release triggered a wave of resignations and criminal investigations, with the U.K.’s former ambassador to the U.S. resigning in disgrace from the House of Lords and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government now teeters on the edge of collapse.

Yet this is an exception, rather than the rule. Calls for justice for the many survivors of Epstein’s abuses have fallen on deaf ears in Washington, D.C, with Trump calling the scandal “a hoax,” while also declaring exoneration from any wrongdoing. Even an apology from Gates and an agreement by Bill and Hillary Clinton to testify on their ties to Epstein are cold comfort, survivors say.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche backed away from pursuing charges or investigations into Epstein’s associates. “We will always investigate any evidence of misconduct, but as you know, it’s not a crime to party with Mr. Epstein,” Blanche said on Fox News. “It’s not a crime to email with Mr. Epstein.”

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., strongly disagreed with this assessment, saying at a press conference Feb. 3 “If Jeffrey Epstein was human trafficking minors for these sex parties, and you show up and patronize the establishment at that party, yes, you’re guilty, because patronizing is part of the law, the federal sex trafficking law, so [Blanche] just got that wrong, which maybe explains why they aren’t investigating all these folks, including Donald Trump. He needs to read the law and investigate these people.”

What’s more, the long-awaited release of the files added insult to injury, victims say. Dozens of names of Epstein survivors were left unredacted by the Department of Justice, including some who had not been named publicly before. Photos of survivors, some underage, were also made publicly available, ranging from nude photos to drivers licenses.

Lauren Hersh, who works with Epstein survivors as national director and founder of World Without Exploitation, told Salon the release has been “incredibly distressing” to the survivors, allowing their names and photographs to be made public, thus putting them “in harm’s way.”

“What I can say with absolute certainty is that the DOJ did a terrible job when they were disseminating these files,” Hersh said. “The redaction issue has been quite awful.”

Under Hersh’s directorship, the organization has called for more action on the Epstein files, including a billboard campaign in Pennsylvania and organizing a bipartisan Capitol Hill rally in September that featured Epstein survivors alongside Representatives Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif.

“We were banking on the fact that the federal government was going to protect the survivors, and that’s not what has happened here,” Hersh said. “The fact that nude photographs of women and girls were disseminated by the federal government should give every American citizen pause.”

In response to a request for comment on the improper redactions, a DOJ spokesperson told Salon the department “takes victim protection very seriously,” with a mind to “protect the innocent.”  

“The Department had 500 reviewers looking at millions of pages for this very reason, to meet the requirements of the act while protecting victims,” the spokesperson said. “When a victim’s name is alleged to be unredacted, our team is working around the clock to fix the issue and republish appropriately redacted pages as soon as possible.”  

Regardless, Hersh said the DOJ’s handling of the files “demonstrates incompetence at best” and suggested the administration could be working against the very survivors it claims to protect. “Many survivors feel that this was a deliberate attempt to intimidate and silence them,” Hersh said.

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Compounding the perceived threat is the very real lack of accountability since the latest release. No investigations from the DOJ have been forthcoming, despite an abundance of evidence, anecdotes and records of damning communications between Epstein and a slew of powerful and influential people.

“I certainly think it is very clear that there are a number of investigatory leads because it is abundantly clear that there are a number of people who committed devastating harm to survivors,” Hersh said. “Those need to be investigated.”

Khanna said the discrepancy “shows there are two tiers of justice in America” in an interview with Democracy Now on Feb 5. “The rich and powerful get to play by one set of rules,” Khanna said, describing the situation as “appalling.” 

Massie has also criticized the DOJ, which he says “has failed to properly redact victims’ information while simultaneously succeeding in avoiding the disclosure of incriminated individuals,” in a statement to Salon. In addition, Massie refuted Blanche’s claim that the review of the Epstein files is “over.”  

“Too many documents are still being withheld or redacted by the Department of Justice,” Massie said. “In spite of what the AG’s office says, document production is not complete.” 

Hersh agrees. “Where is the other half?” she asked, in reference to roughly three million unreleased documents. “What is contained in the other half?”

She may not get her answer. The DOJ announced that the January release would be the final tranche of documents made publicly available. “I don’t think that the public … are going to uncover men within the Epstein files that abused women, unfortunately,” Blanche said at the time.   

Massie has threatened to use a “nuclear option” to bring justice to the survivors: reading the unredacted names of Epstein associates from files only made available to members of Congress. “If the victims want to give them to me, I’ve expressed that I’m willing to do that,” Massie told CNN on Sunday. 

The public was again denied vital information about Epstein’s criminal network when his longtime accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, refused to answer questions from Congress on Monday. Maxwell invoked her Fifth Amendment rights and vowed to speak only if granted clemency, meaning either a commuted sentence or a presidential pardon.

“She must be sent back to the maximum security prison where she belongs,” Khanna said after the deposition.

Maxwell’s refusal to speak and the DOJ’s refusal to investigate won’t keep Hersh from calling for justice for the survivors of Epstein’s abuses and answers from an administration that was supposed to “protect” them.

“This is not about politics. This is exclusively about the survivors and the harm that happened to them decades ago and today, as a direct result of the federal government,” Hersh said. “Every one of these situations is someone’s life.”

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