An attorney who represents several of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims has lashed out at the Department of Justice over its handling of the release of files linked to the late pedophile.
Helene Weiss, a former sex crimes prosecutor whose firm represents multiple survivors of Epstein’s abuse, criticized what she called the “complete mess” surrounding the partial disclosures, saying the release fell far short of what is legally required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Weiss also condemned the DOJ for issuing an ultra-defensive statement alongside the latest batch of Epstein files, in which Donald Trump’s name appears multiple times. In the statement, the DOJ claimed that some of the documents “contain untrue and sensationalist” allegations against the president.
“To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already,” the DOJ said.
“This is a release from the Justice Department that we’ve been waiting for,” Weiss told CNN Central News on Tuesday. “As you know, it’s a release that we were promised on December 19, and the documents we received were, again, heavily redacted.”
“They included some very inappropriate redactions, and now we have the DOJ issuing a defensive statement when it was really their job to release these documents, properly redacting victims’ names, which they completely failed to do,” she said. “It was their job to provide us with documents with appropriate redactions, and they failed.”
“So the statement from the DOJ is confusing and concerning in the context of what we’re actually seeing,” Weiss added. “What the DOJ has delivered is, quite frankly, a complete mess.”
The DOJ and Attorney General Pam Bondi have faced mounting criticism over how the Epstein files have been disclosed, including the initial release of hundreds of heavily redacted pages and the temporary removal of files that mentioned Trump.
The department has said many of the redactions were made to protect victims’ privacy or to shield minors. However, several Epstein survivors—whose identities had previously been protected—have since discovered their names were left unredacted in the released documents.
Weiss also said the DOJ has yet to release key materials related to Maria Farmer, who urged authorities to investigate Epstein as early as 1996 but her warnings were never fully pursued by the FBI.
“We don’t have Maria’s interview notes,” Weiss said. “We also know that many survivors have interview notes. Dozens and dozens of survivors have reported that they spoke with the FBI—that they were interviewed by the FBI. Where are the victim interviews?”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Justice for comment.
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