In its hurried attempt to release all the Epstein files in compliance with federal law, the Department of Justice is coming under fire for making several redaction-related errors.
One of the latest problems facing the DOJ is its disclosure of information meant to be obscured from the public to protect certain details, including the identities of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims.
Online sleuths have discovered a simple method to work around the redactions — by copying and pasting the redacted text from certain documents into Google Docs or Microsoft Word. The Washington Examiner easily uncovered some redacted information while conducting the copy-and-paste test.
One document affected by this error was a government exhibit in a civil case led by the U.S. Virgin Islands against Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn, two executors of Epstein’s estate. It remains unclear how many documents have the same problem.
The Washington Examiner contacted the DOJ for comment on the apparent mistake.
The department reportedly uses the Adobe Acrobat software to redact sensitive information from PDF files. It appears officials in this case used black boxes instead of the dedicated “Redact” tool, which is designed to permanently remove text, images, and hidden information from sight.
Social media users noticed the redaction failure and criticized the DOJ accordingly.
“The DOJ used Adobe to redact some files that can be undone by copying/pasting & searching,” Sarah Fields, who serves as a Republican precinct chair in an eastern Texas county, said on X. “This is embarrassing. Someone is getting fired.”
Other errors abounded in recent days as the DOJ released more Epstein files on its website. A photo of President Donald Trump, among other images, was initially removed over the weekend but was later restored. Also, some documents were entirely redacted before the DOJ began to correct the issue.
The DOJ released an initial trove of Epstein files on Friday, which marked the administration’s statutory deadline for releasing all files in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The department will continue to publish the information in the coming days and weeks.
The latest release on Tuesday encompassed more than 30,000 files, including a letter purportedly written by Epstein to fellow sex offender Larry Nassar that the FBI deemed fake for several reasons.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said while the DOJ is committed to releasing all the files, many fabricated documents may be caught up in its hasty disclosure.
EPSTEIN ‘CO-CONSPIRATORS’ MENTION IN NEWLY DROPPED FILES BRINGS HEAT TO DOJ
“Document production is just that. We produce documents, and sometimes this can result in releasing fake or false documents because they simply are in our possession because the law requires this,” he said on X after the FBI’s confirmation of the debunked Epstein-Nassar letter. “We will continue to produce every document required by law. Let’s not let internet rumor engines outrun the facts.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi previously said the DOJ is committed to bringing federal charges against anyone who may have been complicit in the trafficking and exploitation of Epstein’s victims. Blanche reiterated this statement in a social media post, maintaining the department is not opposed to full transparency surrounding the Epstein files.
