As many as 37 pages of the Epstein files that should have been released by the Department of Justice remain unaccounted for, according to an analysis from NPR.
While the DOJ finally published memos on Thursday from interviews that FBI agents conducted with a woman in 2019 who alleged that both Epstein and President Donald Trump sexually assaulted her as a minor, 37 pages are still missing, including notes from the interviews, a law enforcement report and license records. A prior investigation from NPR found that 53 pages were missing.
The memos, also known as Form 302s, were written in August and October 2019 when an unidentified woman contacted the FBI to allege that, sometime in the 1980s when she was between 13 and 15 years old, Epstein had assaulted her in South Carolina and then transported her to New York or New Jersey where she alleged she was assaulted by Trump.
The president has denied any wrongdoing in connection with the Epstein case, saying the release of the files has “totally exonerated” him, and he is not accused of any crime.
On Thursday, a DOJ official told CNN that the department was not currently investigating any individual in connection with the Epstein case, and they did not expect anyone to be charged due to a lack of new information.
Previously, the DOJ had only released the memo in which the woman accused Epstein. Following a backlash, as well as threats from Democrats to open an investigation into the missing files, the DOJ released the other memos on Thursday, claiming on social media that they had been incorrectly tagged as duplicates and withheld.
“What we found through extensive review is that a published 302 – additionally disclosed in a published spreadsheet – had subsequent 302s that were coded as ‘duplicative,’” the statement read. “After this was brought to our attention, we reviewed the entire batch with the similar coding and discovered 15 documents were incorrectly coded as duplicative.”
“Additionally, the Southern District of Florida separately determined that 5 prosecution memos that were initially marked as privileged could be released while still protecting the privileged materials,” it continued.
In addition to the memos, two pages of an intake form documenting a call to the FBI made by a friend of the woman were also uploaded.
By law, the DOJ is allowed to refrain from publishing duplicate files or those containing privileged information or that pertain to an ongoing federal investigation. The department has repeatedly told NPR that this was the case for the 37 pages that have been withheld.
A Wall Street Journal analysis published on Tuesday revealed that thousands of files had been removed from the DOJ’s website, including the memos describing the woman’s allegations against Trump.
In total, 47,635 files were unaccounted for. When contacted for comment, the DOJ said that the files had been taken offline for review and “should be ready for re-production by the end of the week.”
CNN reported that in addition to the memos, the DOJ republished images that had temporarily been removed after being flagged for nudity.
A DOJ official told CNN that while thousands of images still need to be republished, this would be completed on Thursday.
While the DOJ is in possession of over 6 million files connected to the Epstein case, it has only released some 3.5 million. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced following the second release of files in late January that the DOJ had completed its review of the documents and was not expecting to release any more.
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