Washington– The Justice Department faces a deadline of Friday to release its files Jeffrey Epsteina convicted sex offender and wealthy financier known for his ties to some of the world’s most powerful people, including Donald Trump, who as president has tried to keep the files closed.
Records It could contain the most detailed look yet at nearly two decades of government Investigations into Epstein’s sexual assault Of young women and underage girls.
The public has long demanded their release to find out whether any of Epstein’s wealthy and powerful associates knew about or participated in the abuse. Epstein’s accusers They have also long sought answers about why federal authorities closed their initial investigations into the allegations in 2008.
Giving in to political pressure from fellow Republicans, on November 19, Trump signed a bill granting the Department of Justice 30 days to release most of its files and communications related to Epstein, including information related to the investigation Epstein dies in federal prison.
The Ministry of Justice did not say exactly when it intends to release the records during the day.
The law’s passage was a remarkable show of bipartisanship, which overcame months of opposition from Trump and Republican leadership.
This law allows for redacting information related to victims or ongoing investigations, but makes clear that records may not be withheld or withheld due to “embarrassment, reputational damage, or political sensitivity.”
Prosecutor Pam Bondi said on November 14 that she had done so Order of the Supreme Federal Prosecutor To investigate Epstein’s ties to Trump’s political enemies, including former President Bill Clinton. Bondi acted after Trump pressed for such an investigation, though he did not clarify the alleged crimes he wanted the Justice Department to investigate. None of the men Trump mentioned in a social media post demanding an investigation have been accused of sexual misconduct by any of Epstein’s victims.
In July, Trump dismissed some of his supporters as “weak” for falling in love with him “Jeffrey Epstein Hoax”. But both Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Los Angeles, failed to block the legislation from being brought to a vote.
Trump has made a U-shaped transformation over the files once it became clear that congressional action was inevitable. He insisted that the Epstein matter had become a distraction to the GOP agenda and that releasing the records was the best way forward.
Police in Palm Beach, Florida, began investigating Epstein in 2005 after the family of a 14-year-old girl reported she had been molested at his mansion. The FBI joined the investigation, and authorities collected testimony from several underage girls who said they were hired to provide sexual massages to Epstein.
Ultimately, though, prosecutors He gave Epstein a deal Which allowed him to avoid federal prosecution. He pleaded guilty to state prostitution charges involving a person under the age of 18 and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Epstein’s accusers then spent years in civil lawsuits trying to overturn that plea deal. One of these women, Virginia Giuffre, accused Epstein of arranging sexual encounters for her, starting at the age of 17, with several other men, including billionaires, famous academics, American politicians and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then known as the Queen of Britain. Prince Andrew.
All of these men denied the accusations. Prosecutors have not brought any charges in connection with Giuffre’s claims, but her account has fueled conspiracy theories about supposed government plots to protect the powerful. Joffrey died She committed suicide on her farm in Western Australia in April at the age of 41.
Federal prosecutors in New York brought new sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019, however He killed himself in prison A month after his arrest. Prosecutors then charged the British socialite who was a longtime confidant of Epstein Ghislaine Maxwellwith underage girls being recruited for Epstein’s abuse.
Maxwell was convicted in late 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison sentence, although she was He transferred from a low-security federal prison in Florida To a minimum security prison camp in Texas after… He was interviewed over the summer by Deputy District Attorney Todd Blanche. Her lawyers said she should never have been tried or convicted.
The Justice Department said in July that it had found no information that could support the prosecution of anyone else.
After nearly two decades of court proceedings and journalist snooping, a plethora of records related to Epstein are already public, including flight logs, address books, email correspondence, police reports, grand jury records, courtroom testimony, and transcripts of depositions by his accusers, employees and others.
However, the public’s appetite for more records was insatiable, especially for anything related to Epstein’s relationships with celebrities including Trump, Mountbatten, Windsor and Clinton.
Trump was friends with Epstein for years before they had a falling out. Neither he nor Clinton have been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and the mere inclusion of someone’s name in the investigative files does not mean otherwise.
Mountbatten-Windsor denied having sex with Joffrey, but King Charles III did They stripped him of his royal titles This year after Joffrey’s diary It was published posthumously.
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Sisak reported from New York.
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