The release of thousands of pages of documents relating to the abuse of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has disappointed those who had been eagerly awaiting the files.
The release of the documents was prompted by an act of Congress that directed the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to release materials related to Epstein's crimes. But some documents have numerous editions, while others are not published at all.
Lawmakers who have pushed for the documents to be released have said the release is incomplete and called the Justice Department's efforts disingenuous.
Some legal experts also warned that the breadth of the editing could only fuel existing conspiracy theories.
But Deputy U.S. Attorney Todd Blanche said Friday – the day the materials were published – that the department had identified more than 1,200 of Epstein's victims or their relatives and withheld material that could identify them.
The latest information released includes a photo of Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell outside Downing Street, a document alleging Epstein introduced a 14-year-old girl to US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and several images of former President Bill Clinton.
At least 15 of the published files were no longer available on the Justice Department website on Saturday, according to CBS, the BBC's US media partner.
According to CBS, one of the missing files contained a mass of framed photographs on a table. The photographs showed Bill Clinton and the other showed the Pope. In the open drawer was a photograph of Trump, Epstein and Maxwell.
Other missing files included photographs of a room with what appeared to be a massage table, as well as nude photographs and nude paintings.
It is unclear why the files were no longer available.
In a post on X on Saturday evening, the Justice Department wrote: “Photos and other materials will continue to be reviewed and edited in accordance with the law, with an abundance of caution as more information becomes available.”
The BBC has contacted the Ministry of Justice for comment.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing against Epstein, and Epstein's victims have not accused him of any crimes. Clinton has never been accused of wrongdoing by Epstein survivors and has denied knowledge of his sex crimes.
Other published photographs show the interiors of Epstein's homes, his foreign travels, and celebrities including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and Peter Mandelson.
The presence of a name or image in files does not constitute an offense. Many of those named in the files or previous press releases related to Epstein have denied any wrongdoing.
US Department of JusticeBut many documents are also heavily redacted.
The Justice Department said it would comply with Congress' request to release the documents, with some caveats.
He redacted personal information about Epstein's victims, material depicting child sexual abuse, material depicting physical abuse, any records that would “jeopardize an active federal investigation,” or any classified documents that must remain secret to protect “national defense or foreign policy.”
The Justice Department said it “does not redact the names of any politicians” and added a quote they attributed to Blanche: “The only redactions that apply to documents are those required by law, period.”
“In accordance with our charter and applicable laws, we do not redact the names of individuals or politicians unless they are victims.”
John Day, a criminal lawyer, told the BBC he was surprised by the amount of information redacted.
“This will only add fuel to the fire if you are a conspiracy theorist,” he said. “I don’t think anyone expected there to be so many amendments. This certainly raises questions about how faithfully the Department of Justice is enforcing the law.”
Mr. Day also noted that the Justice Department is required to provide Congress with a log of what is being redacted within 15 days of the files being released.
“Until you know what's being edited, you don't know what's being hidden,” he said.
In a letter to the judges hearing the Epstein and Maxwell cases, Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said, “Victim privacy interests advise that the faces of women in photographs of Epstein be redacted, even if not all of the women are known to be victims, because it is impossible for the Department to identify every individual in the photograph.”
Clayton added that “some may view this approach to photographs as excessive editing” but that “the department believes it must err on the side of editing in a short time frame to protect victims.”
ReutersSurvivors of Epstein's abuse are among those most disappointed by the release.
Marina Lacerda, who was 14 when she was abused by Epstein, told the BBC she and other survivors had waited a long time for the files to be released.
“We're a little disappointed that they're still lingering and distracting us with other things,” she said.
“Some of the survivors are still nervous and skeptical about how they are going to release the rest of the files. We are very concerned that they will continue to be edited in the same way as they were today.”
Liz Stein, an Epstein survivor, told BBC Radio 4's Today program that she believes the Ministry of Justice is “really brazenly going against the Epstein File Transparency Act”, which is a law that requires all documents to be made public.
Survivors do worry about the possibility of “the slow dissemination of incomplete information without any context,” she noted.
“We just want all the evidence of these crimes to be available.”
Baroness Helena Kennedy, a human rights lawyer and Labor Party peer in Britain's House of Lords, said she was told the changes to the documents were made to protect victims.
“The authorities are always worried” about “exposing people to further vilification in the public consciousness”, she told the BBC Today programme.
She said many Epstein survivors seemed “very interested” in seeing the material revealed, but added that they “may not have been so interested if they knew exactly what was there.”
Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who led the campaign with Republican Congressman Thomas Massie to release the files, said the release was “incomplete” and added that he was considering options such as impeachment, contempt of court or referral to trial.
“Our law requires them to explain the changes,” Hanna said. “There is no single explanation.”
Massey backed Hannah's statement and posted on social media that Attorney General Pam Bondi and other Justice Department officials could be held accountable by future Justice Departments for failing to comply with the document.
He said the document's release was “completely inconsistent with the spirit and letter of the law” of Epstein's Transparency Files Act.
Following its release, the White House called the Trump administration the most “transparent in history,” adding that it had “done more for victims than Democrats have ever done.”
In an interview with ABC News, Blanche was asked whether all the documents that mention Trump in the so-called Epstein files will be released in the coming weeks.
“As long as it complies with the law, yes,” Blanche said. “So there is no need to hide anything because there is Donald Trump's name or anyone else's name, Bill Clinton's name, Reed Hoffman's name.
“Because of this, there is no effort to hold back or not to hold back.”
“We do not redact the names of famous men and women associated with Epstein,” he added.
Additional reporting by Yaroslav Lukiv
