Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Feb 3: The US Justice Department said on Monday it has removed several thousand documents and pieces of media from a public website after they were found to contain victim-identifying information in the latest batch of records related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In a letter to New York judges overseeing the Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said the release of sensitive material was the result of “technical or human error.” The department began publishing the documents on Friday, prompting immediate concern from victims and their lawyers.
Clayton said nearly all materials flagged by victims or their legal teams have been taken down, along with a “substantial number” of documents identified independently by the government. He added that the department has repeatedly revised its review and redaction protocols in response to concerns raised during the process.
According to Clayton, when victims alert authorities that information should have been redacted, the documents are promptly removed from public view, reviewed, and reposted in redacted form — ideally within 24 to 36 hours.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in an interview on ABC’s This Week that the errors were sporadic and affected a very small fraction of the overall release. “Every time we hear from a victim or their lawyer that they believe their name was not properly redacted, we immediately rectify that,” Blanche said, adding that the errors amounted to roughly 0.001 percent of the materials.
The impact of the mistakes surfaced in New York federal court on Monday, where defense lawyers for high-profile real estate brokers Tal, Oren and Alon Alexander sought a mistrial in their ongoing sex trafficking case. The lawyers argued that documents released without proper redactions unfairly linked the brothers to Epstein, damaging their right to a fair trial.
Defense attorney Deanna Paul said the government had “destroyed the possibility of a fair trial” by publicly associating the brothers with Epstein. The Alexander brothers have pleaded not guilty to charges of drugging and raping multiple girls and women between 2008 and 2021.
Judge Valerie E. Caproni tentatively rejected the mistrial request but sharply questioned prosecutors over the lapse. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Espinosa acknowledged that at least one document mentioning the brothers should have been redacted and confirmed it had since been withdrawn.
Espinosa also told the court that most of the remaining Epstein-related documents yet to be released are tied to civil litigation and may require judicial approval before becoming public.
The Associated Press said it is reviewing the released files in collaboration with journalists from CBS, NBC, MSNBC and CNBC, with each outlet responsible for its own independent reporting.