Survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein rebuked the partial release of the Epstein files calling it “indefensible” in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The letter, obtained by CBS News, comes a day before the House Judiciary Committee’s is set to hold an oversight hearing with Bondi. The attorney general is facing criticism for the Justice Department releasing information on the survivors, while redacting names of coconspirators.
“We must be clear: this release does not provide closure,” the letter reads. “It feels instead like a deliberate attempt to intimidate survivors, punish those who came forward, and reinforce the same culture of secrecy that allowed Epstein’s crimes to continue for decades.”
The letter states the DOJ’s “redactions and disclosures” in the most recent tranche of released files are “reckless and dangerous.
“This release remains incomplete in a way that is both staggering and indefensible,” the letter reads.
The letter was sent as a handful of lawmakers visited the DOJ to review the unredacted Epstein files this week. This is the first time the documents have been made available to lawmakers in their entirety.
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) viewed the documents on Monday. Massie said the attempt at making the files transparent was inefficient. In particular, Massie said he’d found the names of six men “likely incriminated” in Epstein’s crimes whose names were redacted.
“What I saw that bothered me were the names of at least six men that had been redacted that are likely incriminated by their inclusion in these files,” Massie said. “It took some digging to find them.”
Khanna and Massie said they would give the DOJ time to fix the redactions, or they would consider reading the names on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives using the speech and debate clause.
MASSIE AND KHANNA CLAIM DOJ REDACTED NAMES ‘LIKELY INCRIMINATED’ MEN IN THE EPSTEIN FILES
“I think we need to give the DOJ a chance to go back through and correct their mistakes,” Massie told reporters.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the DOJ for comment.