New Epstein releases validate FBI ignored 'child porn' complaint filed in 1996; feature Clinton, Michael Jackson
A number of new documents from the Epstein Files were released by the US Department of Justice on Friday (local time). Prominent personalities featured in the docs include Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, and others.
The US Department of Justice released parts of the Epstein Files on Friday (local time), which includes thousands of documents, including photographs of the infamous financier's longtime partner and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as notable personalities like Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Bill Clinton, Sarah Ferguson, Mick Jagger, and others.
The files have been heavily redacted to protect the identities of the victims amid the ongoing investigation. They have been made publicly available under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
However, despite a 30-day deadline that was given to the DoJ, it has said that not all of the documents will be released today.
As per a report by the CNN, officials in the Justice department are frustrated about the speed with which they have to process the files.
Inconsistent redactions
The CNN has reported that there are inconsistent redactions across the Epstein files released Friday.
In some cases, photos of persons have been blacked out to protect their identity, but in other photos, the same person appears without their faces being hidden.
For example, in one case, when a man is laying atop Ghislaine Maxwell, his face has been blacked out, but the same person's face is revealed in other photos, CNN reported.
Trump administration claims credit
The White House was briefed by the Justice Department about the contents of the Epstein files that were released Friday, but was not given the materials before they were made public.
Not long after the release, a spokesperson from the White House claimed that the Trump administration was “the most transparent in history."
The spox also pointed out that Trump had called for a probe into the Democrats who were associated with Epstein.
Trump himself has not yet made any comment on the newly released documents.
Epstein threatened to burn down the house of a victim
In one of the released documents, Esptein threatened to burn down the house of a victim if she revealed to the public that he had stolen from her pictures of her underage sisters that she took at a swimming pool in September 1996.
Maria Farmer, the woman in question, who had filed a complaint with the FBI regarding his interest in "child pornography," has been saying for years that the federal agency never publicly acknowledged her report.
“I’ve waited 30 years,” she said, as per the New York Times, adding, “I can’t believe it. They can’t call me a liar anymore.”
MAGA highlights Bill Clinton
While US President Donald Trump was notably absent from the recently released files, a number of pictures of former Democratic president Bill Clinton were present.
The MAGA camp pounced upon this opportunity, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Trump aide Steven Cheung sharing posts on social media about the same.
Clinton spokesperson Angel Ureña slammed the constant references to the former president in a statement, saying that the investigation "isn't about Bill Clinton".
“There are two types of people here,” he said, as per the Associated Press, adding, “The first group knew nothing and cut Epstein off before his crimes came to light. The second group continued relationships after that. We’re in the first. No amount of stalling by people in the second group will change that.”