US Attorney General Pam Bondi releases first phase of files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
Washington, DC: On Thursday, US Attorney General Pam Bondi declassified and made public documents pertaining to convicted sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein and his sexual exploitation of over 250 minors at his residences in Florida and New York, among other places.
The majority of the data in the first round of release are previously leaked documents that the US government has never formally disclosed. According to a news statement from the US Department of Justice, Pam Bondi said that the first set of data made public on Thursday provides insight into Epstein’s network.
She said, “This Department of Justice is following through on President Trump’s commitment to transparency and lifting the veil on the disgusting actions of Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators.”
“The first phase of files released today sheds light on Epstein’s extensive network and begins to provide the public with long overdue accountability,” she said.
According to FBI Director Kash Patel, the agency is embarking on a “new era” that will be characterized by honesty, accountability, and the relentless pursuit of justice.
Patel said, “The FBI is entering a new era–one that will be defined by integrity, accountability, and the unwavering pursuit of justice.”
“Anyone from the previous or present Bureau who tampers with this will be quickly pursued. There will be no cover-ups, no missing records, and no stone left unturned. We’ll discover any holes if there are. We will unearth any documents that have been concealed. And we’ll submit anything we discover to the DOJ so it can be thoroughly evaluated and openly shared with the American people as it ought to be.
We swear allegiance to the Constitution, and under my direction, that pledge will be kept without exception,” he said.
The news statement from the US Department of Justice said that Attorney General Bondi had asked for all of the Jeffrey Epstein papers. About 200 pages of papers were returned to the department. The Attorney General was subsequently told, however, that thousands of pages of previously undisclosed papers pertaining to Epstein’s investigation and prosecution were involved.
In addition to asking Kash Patel to look into why the request for all records was not fulfilled, Pamela Bondi has instructed the FBI to provide the Department with the remaining materials by 8 a.m. (local time) on February 28.
The press statement said that the US Department of Justice is dedicated to openness and plans to make the remaining records available once they have been reviewed and redacted to protect the identity of Epstein’s victims.
Epstein was arrested earlier in 2019 and charged with both conspiracy to conduct sex trafficking of kids and sex trafficking of minors. He was imprisoned in New York City at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. While facing allegations of sex trafficking, Epstein committed suicide in August 2019.
As stated in the indictment that was unsealed in a federal court in Manhattan on July 18, 2019, “From at least 2002 through at least 2005, Jeffrey Epstein enticed and recruited, and caused to be enticed and recruited, dozens of minor girls to visit his mansion in New York, New York (the “New York Residence”) and his estate in Palm Beach, Florida (the “Palm Beach Residence”), to engage in sex acts with him, after which he would give the victims hundreds of dollars in cash.”
“EPSTEIN also paid some victims to find other young girls who he could abuse in a similar way in order to maintain and expand his victim base. By doing this, EPSTEIN established a huge network of minors that he could sexually abuse, often every day, in places like Palm Beach and New York,” the statement said.
