The US Justice Department has been accused of redacting the names of six men from documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s case without providing an explanation.
On 30 January, the department released over three million partially redacted pages from the Epstein files, citing compliance with a law passed by the US Congress in November requiring transparency on the politically sensitive case.
On Monday, members of Congress from both major parties began examining the unredacted versions of the documents on-site following a notification from the Justice Department last week.
Among those reviewing the files were Republican representative Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna, who jointly authored the transparency law concerning the Epstein case.
Massie told reporters he was troubled that the names of at least six men had been redacted despite evidence suggesting their involvement based on their inclusion in the documents.
Neither lawmaker disclosed the identities of the six individuals, but Massie mentioned that one appears to be a senior figure in a foreign government, while Khanna described another as a “prominent personality.”
Under the transparency law, redactions are permitted only under strict conditions, primarily to protect the privacy of victims.
However, the legislation explicitly forbids withholding information due to potential embarrassment to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary, or on the grounds of political sensitivity.
