The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has said it has released all of the files required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, but lawmakers have argued the release is insufficient.
The letter sent to members of the US Congress on Saturday from US Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy said all documents held by the DoJ had been released and contained a list of names appearing in the files.
Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who co-wrote the law, called for the DoJ to also release internal memos outlining past decisions on whether to charge Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.
Millions of new files relating to the late sex offender Epstein were released by the DoJ earlier this month.
In the letter, Bondi and her deputy Todd Blanche wrote: “In accordance with the requirements of the Act, and as described in various Department submissions to the courts of the Southern District of New York assigned to the Epstein and Maxwell prosecutions and related orders, the Department released all ‘records, documents, communications and investigative materials in the possession of the Department’ that ‘relate to’ any of nine different categories.”
No records were withheld from the DoJ’s release “on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity”, the letter added.
The individuals listed in the letter include people who “are or were a government official or politically exposed person”, and whose name appeared at least once in the files, the letter says.
The names appear in the files in a “wide variety of contexts”, including some people who had “extensive direct email contact with Epstein or Maxwell” and others who were merely referenced in documents or news articles contained in the files, Blanche and Bondi wrote.
