Thousands of files relating to the Epstein case have been taken offline, according to an analysis by the Wall Street Journal.
The Journal found that more than 40,000 files were missing from documents that had been posted to the Justice Department’s website, including documents that detailed one woman’s unverified allegations of sexual misconduct against President Donald Trump.
The Daily Beast has contacted the DOJ for comment. When contacted by the Journal, a department spokesperson said, “47,635 files were offline for further review and should be ready for re-production by the end of the week.”
As the Journal notes, among the files taken offline are FBI notes detailing a series of interviews conducted in 2019 with a victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s who alleged that Trump sexually abused her when she was a minor in the 1980s. The president has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crime.
The files released in January included a summary of the woman’s allegations and a Form 302 from her first interview, but not three other Form 302s, including the interviews in which Trump was named.
The Justice Department, which is required to release witness statements to the public under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, has not explained why the statements were not released.
The Journal reports that the DOJ had previously said it was conducting a review to see if any materials were “improperly tagged in its review process,” and, if that were the case, it would release them.
House Democrats accused the DOJ of withholding documents that could embarrass the president last month, with House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia announcing that Democrats on the committee would be opening an investigation into the matter.
“Yesterday, I reviewed unredacted evidence logs at the Department of Justice. Oversight Democrats can confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews with this survivor who accused President Trump of heinous crimes,” Garcia said.
“Covering up direct evidence of a potential assault by the President of the United States is the most serious possible crime in this White House cover up,” he added.
Department officials have denied deliberately withholding the files, and have claimed that many of the files taken offline contained nudity.
A department spokeswoman told the Journal that it was working to address victims’ concerns and redact sensitive information and explicit images, adding that the documents would be shared online once redactions are made.
The DOJ has already been repeatedly embarrassed by blunders relating to the redaction and release of the Epstein files, including the revelation late last year that the redactions made in the first release could be easily undone using Photoshop.
The department also came under fire last month after a CNN analysis uncovered nearly 100 explicit images of two young women in the files published as part of the second release.
Another blunder in the second release resulted in the accidental unmasking of an undercover FBI agent after footage from a 2009 video of an undercover operation was published.
The DOJ has only released 3.5 million of the 6 million pages of evidence associated with the Epstein case. Following the second release of files in January, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the department’s review of the case had now concluded.
