New york: A law firm representing alleged victims of the late Jeffrey Epstein, a disgraced sex offender, has requested federal court intervention after the US House Oversight Committee released documents earlier this month containing dozens of unredacted victim names, according to media reports on Wednesday.
According to Anadolu Agency, attorneys Bradley Edwards and Brittany Henderson stated that the document release has caused 'widespread panic' among alleged victims. Many expressed shock that their identifying information was made public, despite previous assurances that names would be redacted. One alleged victim remarked, 'I thought the government had promised to redact our names and identifying material,' as per a court filing.
Another victim described the disclosure as 'just impossible,' while a third shared, 'I have been unable to mentally and emotionally function or sleep.' The Justice Department is facing a December 19 deadline to release hundreds of thousands of Epstein-related files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The attorneys have urged US District Judge Richard Berman to compel the Department of Justice (DOJ) to enhance its review procedures to prevent further releases of sensitive material.
The filing emphasized, 'These women are not political pawns,' asserting that victims deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and to feel safe and protected by their country, which has repeatedly failed them. The filing further revealed that the Oversight Committee's documents included unredacted data for dozens of alleged victims, including minors, with one file alone containing 28 names.
The attorneys alleged that the DOJ either 'does not know the identities of all the victims' or is 'intentionally failing to protect victims from public exposure.' They highlighted that the DOJ has acknowledged Epstein harmed 'over one thousand victims' and requested the court to verify whether the department had attempted to redact all relevant names before sharing documents with Congress.
They also noted that victims had been unsuccessful in reaching DOJ officials to prevent further breaches. 'Despite numerous pleas for assistance,' they wrote, 'the Department of Justice has been the primary violator of the victims' identity protection thus far.'
The DOJ has separately petitioned courts in New York and Florida to authorize the release of grand jury transcripts and exhibits from Epstein- and Maxwell-related cases, which are typically kept confidential. Judge Berman responded by ordering the DOJ to provide, by December 1, a 'detailed description' of the materials it plans to release and its redaction procedures to safeguard victim identities.
In a separate filing, US Attorney Jay Clayton mentioned that his office would 'confer with counsel for known victims concerning names and terms for withholding and redactions.' He also outlined categories of material the DOJ intends to release, including witness interview notes, search warrant applications, financial records, and documents from the Epstein estate.