A watchdog group is demanding that Pam Bondi’s Department of Justice explain why none of the millions of documents released as part of the Epstein files include communications from top Trump administration officials.
The Democracy Defenders Fund alleged in a letter Friday that the DOJ has “impermissibly” narrowed the scope of the Epstein Files Transparency Act by failing to include any communications from Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, or FBI Director Kash Patel.
Those officials “have been at the center of DOJ’s response (or lack thereof) to congressional and public calls for production of the Epstein files,” the letter said, meaning the Epstein Library “should be replete with their communications.”
“The obvious conclusion is that these communications have been withheld, destroyed, or redacted to the point that they are not traceable in the Epstein Library,” it continued.
The law requires the release of all of the DOJ’s unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials relating to the investigation and prosecution of Epstein, while allowing certain information to be redacted, including personal details of victims and materials that would jeopardize an active federal investigation.
The exemptions are “largely inapplicable” to communications from Bondi, Blanche, and Patel, according to the Democracy Defenders Fund, which has asked the DOJ’s inspector general to ensure compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
In a statement to Axios, a DOJ spokesperson said the complaints were a “tired narrative.”
“This Department produced more than 3.5 million pages in compliance with the law and, in full transparency, has disclosed to the public and to Congress what items were not responsive,” the statement said.
The Daily Beast has also reached out for comment.
The DOJ released the last tranche of Epstein-related files on Jan. 30, more than a month after the deadline Congress established for releasing any records related to the late sex offender and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
President Donald Trump, who was friends with Epstein for more than a decade, responded to the release by declaring, “I think it’s really time for the country to get onto something else.”
His name or related terms were found 5,300 times within the documents, though he has denied having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. The disgraced financier died by an apparent suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
He had previously pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Epstein’s victims, however, have said they’re not satisfied with the DOJ’s release. Earlier this week, both Trump and Vice President JD Vance complained that CNN star Kaitlan Collins needed to smile more when asking what the president would say to victims who feel like they haven’t gotten justice.
The release was heavily redacted and yet full of mistakes, with the DOJ forced to rush to take down thousands of documents containing the unredacted names of victims and even nude images of young women.
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