The United States of America is already in turmoil over the Epstein files. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) began releasing the documents last Friday. In the midst of this, just before Christmas, an additional 1 million documents pertaining to the Jeffrey Epstein case and the allegations against him have been discovered. These documents will now also be released along with the Epstein files.
Documents under review
The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI have found this vast collection of Epstein-related documents. The US Justice Department has also begun the work of reviewing all these documents. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said, "There was an attempt to cover up these documents. But the truth cannot be suppressed."
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The US DOJ has stated that it will take several days to review and examine all these newly discovered documents. Therefore, the release of the Epstein files may be delayed by several weeks. Following this, Congress members Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie have threatened to take Attorney General Pam Bondi to court. They said, "All files must be released within the stipulated time. Otherwise, it amounts to contempt of court."
However, the Department of Justice has stated that ensuring the protection of victims is its priority. A team of nearly 200 analysts is working day and night to examine the new documents. The faces of the victims are being covered with black blocks. This has also been seen in the files that have already been released. The DOJ had covered the faces of two minors on either side of former US President Bill Clinton's photo with black blocks.
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What has been unearthed so far?
President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act on November 19. Since then, more than 300,000 pages of documents have come to light. It should be noted that Jeffrey Epstein was found guilty in multiple cases, including sexual harassment, rape, and minor trafficking. Most of these allegations involved minors. Around 40 women had publicly raised allegations of sexual harassment against him. He was found guilty in the case and sentenced to 45 years in prison. However, Epstein committed suicide in jail in 2019.
A woman named Virginia Giuffre had provided detailed information to the court about who had associations with Epstein. Those documents reportedly contain the names of major world figures, including Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, and Donald Trump. However, the truth of this has not been verified till date.