The Epstein Files Are out, but They Still Contain Plenty of Redactions

The fervor around the Epstein files has continued to grow over the past few months, and on Dec. 19, the Department of Justice started to release the files to the public. Following the news of the release of the full files, many wanted to better understand where they could actually access the files.

Even as many people begin to peruse, there has also been some public consternation about the things that still seem to be missing. Here's what we know.

The Epstein files that have been released by the Justice Department are now available on the department's website. These include the vast majority of files that were a part of the Department's investigation into Epstein that have been released to date, and include documentary and photographic evidence that suggests his ties to a number of prominent men, including President Bill Clinton. What they are notably light on, in spite of other public evidence to this effect, are connections to Donald Trump.

The first thing to note is that not all of the files have yet been made available to the public. The Department of Justice is still working to release all the files, so there are missing pages for that reason. What's also true, though, is that the files that have been made available are heavily redacted, and we obviously don't know whether those redactions are related to classified information or for another reason.

According to CNBC, there was also controversy over a particular photo from the files, which appears to be of Epstein's desk and contains a photo of Epstein with Trump, which was removed from the site and then restored.

“The Southern District of New York flagged an image of President Trump for potential further action to protect victims,” the DOJ said in a post on the social media site X (formerly known as Twitter).

“Out of an abundance of caution, the Department of Justice temporarily removed the image for further review. After the review, it was determined there is no evidence that any Epstein victims are depicted in the photograph, and it has been reposted without any alteration or redaction," the post continued.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, meanwhile, used the removal of the photo as a way to suggest that Attorney General Pam Bondi is engaged in some sort of larger-scale cover-up.

“This photo, file 468, from the Epstein files that includes Donald Trump has apparently now been removed from the DOJ release,” the committee wrote in a post on X. ”@AGPamBondi is this true? What else is being covered up? We need transparency for the American public.”

As documents continue to be released, questions will only continue to mount over what the files contain and whether the Department of Justice should release them unvarnished. Given what we already know about the president's connections to Epstein and about his influence over the Department of Justice, it's important to remain skeptical.