Dem
47
GOP
53
The dump of 3 million Epstein documents did not quell the demand for transparency, in no small part because many pages were completely blacked out—in violation of the law that states only the names of Epstein's victims may be blacked out. Donald Trump has undoubtedly noticed that people are still demanding the uncensored files. Consequently, the DoJ made what might be a concession, namely that starting today, members of Congress will be allowed to view the unredacted files.
It remains to be seen how this works in practice. Trump has opposed releasing the files for so long that it seems reasonable to assume there are things in there he really, really, really does not want to let out. Will he now reverse course and let people like Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), whom he despises, actually see the unredacted files? Not likely.
The details are still not final, but the DoJ's first offer is to let members who want to see the files do so if they give 24 hours notice in advance. They will be led to a reading room within the DoJ headquarters where they will be given access to a computer on which the files can be viewed. They will not be permitted to bring in any electronic devices. They will be allowed to take notes, though. Of course, if a member finds something that reflects badly on Donald Trump and later reports that, the DoJ will probably deny it. Without photographic evidence, who will people believe? The letter from the DoJ specifically said "electronic devices." Technically, a disposable mechanical film camera that does not have a built-in flash is not an electronic device and should be permitted under the rules, but we suspect as soon as a member tries to bring in a nonelectronic film camera, the DoJ will change the rules.
Another hot issue here is that the DoJ itself has said that it has identified 6 million Epstein files but has released only 3 million of them. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) has informed the DoJ that it is not in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act (H.R. 4405) recently passed by Congress. The DoJ hasn't responded yet, but the ultimate response is likely to be "So? What are you going to do about it?" If the Democrats capture the House in November, then the answer might be the impeachment of DoJ officials who are refusing to comply with the law. Until then, the DoJ seems unlikely to change its mind, although it might look at the missing files and release those that don't implicate any Republicans in any crimes.
Yesterday The Wall Street Journal published a list of famous names it has found in the Epstein files. Here is the list so far:
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Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem Steve Bannon Mohammed bin Salman Richard Branson Børge Brende Sergey Brin Noam Chomsky |
Bill Clinton Bill Gates Reid Hoffman Brad Karp Howard Lutnick Peter Mandelson Princess Mette-Marit |
George Mitchell Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Elon Musk Nathan Myhrvold Brett Ratner Terje Rød-Larsen Marc Rowan |
Kathryn Ruemmler Steve Tisch Donald Trump Melania Trump Jide Zeitlin Mark Zuckerberg |
Note that inclusion in the list may indicate only poor taste in friends and business partners rather than criminal activity. Actually, it might even indicate less than that. Because the FBI included all of Epstein's e-mails in the collection, there are names of people who, for example, were writers for [WEBSITE X], and who appear because Epstein signed up for daily e-mail updates from [WEBSITE X]. So, don't reach too many conclusions until there is a smoking gun or two. (V)