The partial release of government files on Jeffrey Epstein has caused a firestorm among survivors of the late convicted sex offender’s alleged abuse and members of Congress.
One of the survivors, Sharlene Rochard, called the heavily redacted documents dump “unacceptable.”
“I’m very upset with the justice system because there’s full pages that are totally blacked out,” Rochard said on NBC News’ Here’s the Scoop Monday. “I don’t know about you, but my name is not a full page. We only asked that our names be redacted.”
The Justice Department had until last Friday to release all of the files — with few exceptions such as identifying factors of alleged victims — but on that day, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said it would take a “couple of weeks” to produce all the documents.
The documents that were released were filled with redactions, including a 100-page file that was completely blacked out. Survivors not only complained about what was redacted, but what was not.
“The public received a fraction of the files, and what we received was riddled with abnormal and extreme redactions with no explanation,” nearly two dozen Epstein survivors wrote in a statement released Monday. “At the same time, numerous victim identities were left unredacted, causing real and immediate harm.”
In a CNN interview Monday, Epstein survivor Jess Michaels accused the Department of Justice of being “sloppy and inconsistent and thoughtless” in the Epstein files release.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are already weighing their legal options after the Trump administration failed to release the complete Epstein files by the deadline.
That deadline was set by Representative Thomas Massie (R-K.Y.) and Ro Khanna (D-C.A.)’s bill called the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Donald Trump signed last month.
Massie and Khanna are drafting a resolution to find Attorney General Pam Bondi, who heads the Justice Department, in inherent contempt.
Khanna said in an appearance on CBS News’ Face the Nation with Massie on Sunday the resolution would fine Bondi “for every day that she’s not releasing these documents.”
“The quickest way, and I think most expeditious way, to get justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi,” Massie said.
The Independent has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
Representative Robert Garcia (D-C.A.), the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, told MeidasTouch Monday, he’s been working directly with Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a constitutional lawyer and ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee.
“We have a legal plan that we’re moving forward right now. Ro Khanna and Tom Massie are also moving forward with plans within Congress, looking at possible ways of holding Pam Bondi in contempt or even beyond that,” Garcia said.
He continued: “And then we have a bunch of incredibly smart lawyers and advocates across the country right now, including those working with survivors, looking at what our legal options are in the courts as well. So all hands are on deck right now. All the options are on the table.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced a resolution directing the Senate to “initiate legal actions” against the Trump administration for its handling of the Epstein files.
“The American people deserve full transparency, and Senate Democrats will use every tool at our disposal to ensure they get it,” Schumer wrote on X Monday.
Responding to the latest trove of Epstein files released, which included photos of former Democratic President Bill Clinton, Trump told reporters Monday, “I've always gotten along with Bill Clinton...I hate to see photos come out of him.”
“You probably have pictures being exposed of other people that innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago, many years ago, and they’re highly respected bankers and lawyer and others. And they’ll end up, because of guys like Massie, who’s a real low life…” Trump continued.
Massie wrote on X in response: “Trump is blaming me for a bill he eventually signed, while defending his banker friends, Bill Clinton, and ‘innocent’ visitors to rape island,” referring to Epstein’s private island where he was accused of sex trafficking underage girls. “Meanwhile Bondi is working fervently to redact, omit, and delete Epstein files she is legally required to release under our bill.”
Rep. Garcia has accused the Trump administration of a “cover-up.” But White House Spokesperson Abigail Jackson previously told The Independent, “The Trump Administration is the most transparent in history.
“By releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, and President Trump recently calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, the Trump Administration has done more for the victims than Democrats ever have.”
Trump said Monday he thought the controversy surrounding his administration’s handling of the Epstein files was “finished” and that the Justice Department released 100,000 pages of documents related to the disgraced financier.
NBC News’ Chief Capitol Hill Correspondent Ryan Nobles wrote on X, “Even the most generous estimates of what has been released so far is less than 10k pages and that includes all the pages that have been redacted.”
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