Trump Admin Slammed Over Redactions In Epstein Release: ‘Most Disgusting Cover Up In American History’

Photo by Annabelle Gordon/Sipa USA/Sipa via AP Images

The Trump Administration was hit with sharp criticism over the amount of redacted information in the newly released files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday.

The Department of Justice posted documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act on its website Friday afternoon in accordance with the midnight deadline set by the statute signed into law by President Donald Trump last month.

As scores of viewers began to sift through the latest document dump– numbering almost four thousand files– many reacted with outrage over the amount of blacked out information.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox & Friends host Lawrence Jones that the level of blackout was necessary to protect victims, blaming the Trump administration’s failure to release all of the files in time for the deadline on the need for redactions.

“I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks, so today, several hundred thousand, and then over the next couple weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more,” Blanche said. “There’s a lot of eyes looking at these and we want to make sure that when we do produce the materials we are producing, that we are protecting every single victim.”

Blanche’s reasoning proved unconvincing to many.

Conservative Bill Kristol voiced his anger over the redactions in a series of tweets, speculating as to whether Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), who lead the push to release the files, should call the House back into session to push for a more transparent release.

“In light of the Epstein Blackout, shouldn’t Khanna and Massie demand Johnson call the House back into session? (If he won’t, can they somehow hijack the pro forma session scheduled for Tuesday Dec. 23?) And Senators should make a similar demand of Thune,” he wrote.

Rep. Nellie Pou (D-NJ) sarcastically quoted the Trump administration’s frequent claim that it is “the most transparent administration in history,” along with a photograph of an entirely redacted page.

Progressive outlet MeidasTouch dually slammed the release, calling the move “the most disgusting cover up in American history.”

Journalists Aaron Parnas and Andrew Prokop also noted the prevalence of blackout, with Prokop joking that “this release will answer every question people still have about this scandal.”

Below are some more reactions: