Thousands of pages of documents, hundreds of photos and videos, a lengthy phone book of nearly 100 pages, and most importantly, the redacted names of 1,200 young women abused by Jeffrey Epstein and his associates. Just hours before the deadline set by the US Congress in November, the Department of Justice published the files on its website relating to the case of the pedophile financier who committed suicide in prison in 2019.

A "comprehensive library on Epstein," as the dedicated page has been called, where the documents are divided into various categories: court documents from criminal and civil cases; documents released in compliance with the law passed by Congress and signed by Donald Trump; material released following access to public records requests; and documents from the House Oversight Committee. A huge amount of material that, at a preliminary analysis, as confirmed by the words of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, appears heavily censored.

“In addition to redacting the names of the victims, we have also redacted and are not releasing any material that could lead to their identification,” Pam Bondi’s deputy wrote in a statement to American media.

The files also contain hundreds of photos, many never before seen . They include shots of Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell on vacation, several with Bill Clinton, one in a pool, one with Michael Jackson, and another with Richard Branson. And then a new shot of Prince Andrew lying on top of five girls. Media outlets note that the images were published without any context and are therefore difficult to interpret. The former Democratic president, in particular, appears in one photo shirtless in a hot tub with a person whose face is covered. In other photos, Clinton is immortalized swimming in the pool near Maxwell; there is also another person with their face obscured. Some images are of homes, but it is unclear which of the former financier's are those.

Among the papers are also thousands of documents and some censored telephone recordings, which, however, make it impossible to determine who is speaking to whom. It's also difficult to search by name, since most of the documents are in PDF format.

The 95-page phone book contains the names of thousands of elite figures from the worlds of entertainment, finance, and business: from the well-known Dukes of York to Mick Jagger, Phil Collins, Henry Kissinger, and even some Italians, including, as has emerged in recent years, Flavio Briatore and Giuseppe Cripriani, as well as hotel and restaurant contacts. It also contains the "Masseuse List," a list of 254 masseuses whose names have, however, been redacted.

For the White House, the release of the files demonstrates the transparency of the Trump administration. "He is the most transparent president in history," spokeswoman Abigail Jackson wrote. "By releasing thousands of pages of documents, he has done more for the victims than any Democrat ever has," she added.

Blanche also stated that "further relevant documents will be released as the investigation continues in accordance with the law and the protection of victims."

Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who helped lead the campaign to secure the documents' release, warned that if the Justice Department fails to adequately demonstrate compliance with the law requiring disclosure, Congress could initiate impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Blanche. The release, he said, "was disappointing, at least on first reading, and it was not transparent."

(Unioneonline)

© Riproduzione riservata