Epstein recordsdata: What's Trump’s DOJ withholding?

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Welcome to The Logoff: The Trump administration isn’t being sincere in regards to the Epstein recordsdata.

What’s occurring? After about 3 million new documents from the Epstein recordsdata — the collected supplies from DOJ’s a number of Epstein investigations — had been launched late final month, DOJ mentioned that nothing had been withheld “on the premise of embarrassment, reputational hurt, or political sensitivity.”

Now, it seems that was unfaithful. In new reporting Tuesday by NPR, we discovered that greater than 50 pages of fabric probably associated to President Donald Trump have both been withheld or taken down, opposite to the 2025 regulation mandating their launch (in some circumstances, supplies taken down have since been restored).

What do the paperwork say? A few of the unreleased supplies, in keeping with NPR, look like FBI interview notes and transcripts from a number of interviews with a lady who accused each Trump and Epstein of sexual abuse within the early Eighties, when she was 13 years previous.

We don’t know specifics about what the unreleased interview supplies may allege, and as my colleague Andrew Prokop points out , there may be loads within the recordsdata that's unsubstantiated. However there’s not less than some motive to imagine that the unreleased paperwork might contact on allegations of misconduct by Trump, and both means, DOJ’s failure to launch them seems to be in clear violation of the regulation.

What’s the context? The discharge of the Epstein recordsdata has been a large number. Not solely did the Trump administration blow previous the 30-day deadline imposed by Congress to launch the recordsdata, however DOJ additionally launched the unredacted names of dozens of Epstein victims and unredacted nude photographs within the course of.

The sheer quantity of fabric — and their chaotic, usually unverified nature — means we’re nonetheless studying extra about what the recordsdata say and what could also be lacking. Which means these sorts of revelations could proceed, although no extra main doc releases are anticipated from DOJ.

And with that, it’s time to log out…

Hello readers, right here’s a extra substantive bit of fine information to log out with: My colleague Zack Beauchamp is out with his most recent piece in Vox’s “America after Trump” sequence. It’s all about how different nations — Brazil, South Korea, and Poland — efficiently saved their democracies, and the way their expertise provides a hopeful lesson for the US. You'll be able to learn the complete story with a present hyperlink here .

Alternatively, if you need one thing lighter in your Tuesday night, here’s a sled dog stealing a camera — and unintentionally recording the heist. Thanks for studying, and we’ll see you again right here tomorrow!