In the DOJ’s Botched Epstein Release, Confusion May Be the Goal

‘There is no conceivable degree of institutional incompetence sufficient to explain the scale, consistency, and persistence of the failures that occurred.’

On January 30, the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, announced the Justice Department’s publication of more than three million pages of documents relating to investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender. The release came weeks after a deadline set by Congress and was said by Blanche to be the final batch of documents—despite millions of files still being withheld. “Listen, victims of Mr. Epstein have gone through unspeakable pain,” Blanche told reporters. “To the extent that there’s frustration, I understand where that comes from.” He added that he hoped the Justice Department’s efforts would “bring closure.”

It took barely any time at all to realize that the victims of Epstein’s abuse—the DOJ estimates he preyed on at least one thousand women and children—felt not a sense of closure, but anger. Thousands of released documents featured survivors’ names, and reports quickly emerged of the inclusion of unredacted photos of nude bodies and faces, some of them likely of minors. Survivors’ names, addresses, driver’s license information, bank details, and photographs were released. Soon, survivors found themselves on the receiving end of press intrusion as well as disgusting messages and death threats. The release of files looked not so much like a sincere effort at closure as a mass doxing campaign, retraumatizing survivors of grotesque abuse.