Jeffrey Epstein Files Release: The Jeffrey Epstein case files, which have been at the center of controversy and conspiracies for years in America, have finally started becoming public. The US Justice Department on Friday released the first batch of investigative records related to Epstein. This is the same case which has shaken politics, Hollywood and the business world for a long time. These are the same files whose opening was promised by President Donald Trump himself during the elections. These documents were expected to reveal some revelations about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s relationships with high profile people.
Why were the Epstein files made public?
These documents have been made public under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. According to this law passed by Congress in November, December 19 was the last deadline. However, a new complication has arisen. Heavy redactions in the released files have raised questions about transparency. Redaction means deliberately hiding or blacking out sensitive or confidential parts of any document, report, file or information.
Bill Clinton in the hot tub.
What came out in the file?
Among the records released, there are seven pages of list of 254 massaging women. All seven pages contained only names, but these were completely blackened. The Justice Department cited the need to protect the identities of potential victims. But critics say that this list is considered the real key to the Epstein network and hiding it has deepened the suspicion.
What new pictures were revealed?
Many such pictures have also come to light in these files which were never made public before. In these, former President Bill Clinton is shown lying in a hot tub, while a part of the photo is covered with a black box. In another photo, Clinton is seen swimming with a woman who is said to be Epstein’s close associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
A picture of pop star Michael Jackson has also surfaced in which he is seen standing with Epstein. Apart from this, names like Mick Jagger, Woody Allen and Noam Chomsky are also mentioned in the documents. However, the US administration has reiterated that the appearance of a photograph or name is not in itself evidence of a crime.
What things came to light regarding Donald Trump?
Donald Trump’s name also appears in records like contact books and flight logs. According to the initial investigation by The New York Times, most of the documents related to Trump were already public. Trump and Epstein were in the same social circle in the 1990s, but their relations later broke down. There is no allegation against Trump in this case.
Yet this issue remains politically sensitive for Trump. During the election campaign, he had promised to release all the files, but after returning to power, he called the demand for transparency a Democrat hoax. In July, the FBI and Justice Department issued a memo saying that Epstein had no client list and that concrete evidence of blackmail was not found. After this statement, anger spread among Trump supporters also.
What are the Democrats’ allegations?
Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer called the partial release a cover-up, alleging that this process was adopted to protect Trump from his past. At the same time, Republicans have already accused the Democrats of selectively revealing documents and taking political advantage.
US Deputy Justice Secretary Todd Blanch said that several million documents were released on Friday and more files will be made public in the coming weeks. He clarified that due to the ongoing investigation and the safety of the victims, many parts have been deliberately omitted and no new charges are going to be framed in this case.
No answers regarding Jeffrey Epstein
Jeffrey Epstein died in a New York prison in 2019, which was ruled a suicide. But even today questions and conspiracy theories continue on this. Many people believe that he was murdered because he could take the names of many big people.
