Admin Defends Partial Epstein Release  12/22 06:17

   Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the Justice 
Department's decision to release just a fraction of the Jeffrey Epstein files 
by the congressionally mandated deadline as necessary to protect survivors of 
sexual abuse by the disgraced financier.

   WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday 
defended the Justice Department's decision to release just a fraction of the 
Jeffrey Epstein files by the congressionally mandated deadline as necessary to 
protect survivors of sexual abuse by the disgraced financier.

   Blanche pledged that the Trump administration eventually would meet its 
obligation required by law. But he stressed that the department was obligated 
to act with caution as it goes about making public thousands of documents that 
can include sensitive information.

   Friday's partial release of the Epstein files has led to a new crush of 
criticism from Democrats who have accused the Republican administration of 
trying to hide information.

   Blanche called that pushback disingenuous as President Donald Trump's 
administration continues to struggle with calls for greater transparency, 
including from members of his political base, about the government's 
investigations into Epstein, who once counted Trump as well as several 
political leaders and business titans among his peers.

   "The reason why we are still reviewing documents and still continuing our 
process is simply that to protect victims," Blanche told NBC's "Meet the 
Press." "So the same individuals that are out there complaining about the lack 
of documents that were produced on Friday are the same individuals who 
apparently don't want us to protect victims."

   Blanche's comments were the most extensive by the administration since the 
file dump, which included photographs, interview transcripts, call logs, court 
records and other documents. But some of the most consequential records 
expected about Epstein were nowhere to be found, such as FBI interviews with 
survivors and internal Justice Department memos examining charging decisions. 
Those records could help explain how investigators viewed the case and why 
Epstein was allowed in 2008 to plead guilty to a relatively minor state-level 
prostitution charge.

   Trump, who was friends with Epstein for years before the two had a 
falling-out, tried for months to keep the records sealed. Though Trump has not 
been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, he has argued there is 
nothing to see in the files and that the public should focus on other issues.

   Federal prosecutors in New York brought sex trafficking charges against 
Epstein in 2019, but he killed himself in jail after his arrest.

   Democrat see a cover-up, not an effort to protect victims

   But Democratic lawmakers on Sunday hammered Trump and the Justice Department 
for a partial release.

   Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., argued that the Justice Department is obstructing 
the implementation of the law mandating the release of the documents not 
because it wants to protect the Epstein victims.

   "It's all about covering up things that, for whatever reason, Donald Trump 
doesn't want to go public, either about himself, other members of his family, 
friends, Jeffrey Epstein, or just the social, business, cultural network that 
he was involved in for at least a decade, if not longer," he said on CNN's 
"State of the Union."

   Blanche also defended the department's decision to remove several files 
related to the case from its public webpage, including a photograph showing 
Trump, less than a day after they were posted.

   The missing files, which were available Friday but no longer accessible by 
Saturday, included images of paintings depicting nude women, and one showed a 
series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. In that image, inside a 
drawer among other photos, was a photograph of Trump, alongside Epstein, 
Melania Trump and Epstein's longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.

   Blanche said the documents were removed because they also showed victims of 
Epstein. Blanche said that Trump photo and the other documents will be reposted 
once redactions are made to protect survivors.

   "It has nothing to do with President Trump," Blanche said. "There are dozens 
of photos of President Trump already released to the public seeing him with Mr. 
Epstein."

   The thousands of Epstein-related records posted publicly offer the most 
detailed look yet at nearly two decades worth of government scrutiny of 
Epstein's sexual abuse of young women and underage girls. Yet Friday's release, 
replete with redactions, has not dulled the clamor for information given how 
many records had yet to be released and because some of the materials had 
already been made public.

   Justice Department has just learned the names of more potential victims, 
Blanche says

   Blanche said that the department continues to review the trove of documents 
and has learned the names of additional potential victims in recent days.

   The deputy attorney general also defended the decision by the federal Bureau 
of Prisons, which Blanche oversees, to transfer Maxwell to a less restrictive, 
minimum-security federal prison earlier this year soon after he interviewed her 
about Epstein. Blanche said that the transfer was made because of concerns 
about her safety.

   Maxwell, Epstein's onetime girlfriend, is serving a 20-year federal prison 
sentence for her 2021 conviction for sex trafficking crimes.

   "She was suffering numerous and numerous threats against her life," Blanche 
said. "So the BOP is not only responsible for putting people in jail and making 
sure they stay in jail, but also for their safety."

   Meanwhile, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., have 
indicated they could draft articles of impeachment against Attorney General Pam 
Bondi for what they see as the gross failure of the department to comply with 
the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

   "It's not about the timeline, it's about the selective concealment," Khanna 
said on CBS' "Face the Nation," adding that the redactions in the released 
files are excessive. He said he believes there will be "bipartisan support in 
holding her accountable, and a committee of Congress should determine whether 
these redactions are justified or not."

   House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said on ABC's "This 
Week" that there needs "to be a full and complete explanation and then a full 
and complete investigation as to why the document production has fallen short 
of what the law clearly required," but he stopped short of backing impeachment.

   Blanche dismissed the impeachment talk.

   "Bring it on," Blanche said. "We are doing everything we're supposed to be 
doing to comply with this statute."