\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no relationship.\u201d<\/span>Epstein estate\/House oversight committee\/Zuma<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n On Friday,<\/span> the Trump-controlled Justice Department was mandated by a nearly unanimous act of Congress to release all government files related to Jeffrey Epstein and his crimes.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are they protecting?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n But the government has made just a portion of its holdings publically available, and among the 13,000 documents released, some are extensively or virtually totally redacted. While the law permits withholding information to protect victims, obscured portions include the names and faces of numerous Epstein associates, despite the law\u2019s dictate<\/a> that nothing be withheld\u00a0\u201con the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity\u2026to any government official [or] public figure.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Rep. Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican who broke with his party to champion the Epstein Files Transparency Act, what the government has so far provided\u00a0\u201cgrossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n Epstein\u2019s victims have similar complaints. \u201cThey are proving everything we have been saying about corruption and delayed justice,\u201d Jess Michaels told the New York Times<\/a><\/em>. \u201cWhat are they protecting? The coverup continues.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The release is being overseen by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the president\u2019s former personal defense attorney, who represented him in the criminal case related to Trump\u2019s attempt to coverup his affair with Stormy Daniels<\/a>, the adult film star. Blanche has said that the Justice Department remains at work preparing more files for disclosure in the \u201ccoming weeks,\u201d in apparent violation of Friday\u2019s deadline.<\/p>\n The law requires the department to prepare a report to Congress justifying any documents or names it may withhold, and submit it with 15 days of the \u201ccompletion of the release.\u201d But Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, the Silicon Valley Democrat who moved the bill forward with the help of a handful of GOP colleagues, aren\u2019t waiting to begin discussing how to bring about legal consequences for Trump officials who have or may still be violating their law requiring disclosure.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Justice Department\u2019s document dump,\u201d Khanna said in an online video, \u201cdoes not comply\u2026 Pam Bondi has obfuscated for months.\u201d He suggested that Congress consider impeaching officials or holding them in inherent contempt. \u201cAttorney General Pam Bondi is withholding specific documents that the law required her to release by today,\u201d Massie posted<\/a>, pointedly adding<\/a> that prosecutors in a future administration could eventually \u201cconvict the current AG\u201d for breaking their law.<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s release included many photos of Bill Clinton, a former president, but little new information on the current one. While Trump has variously claimed that he and Epstein \u201cdid not socialize together,\u201d that \u201cthere was no relationship\u201d between them, and that he \u201cwas not a fan of his,\u201d\u00a0this week a Times<\/em> investigation found<\/a> that \u201cthe two men forged a bond intense enough to leave others who knew them with the impression that they were each other\u2019s closest friend.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n