More than a dozen politically exposed people and government officials’ names appear in the hundreds of thousands of pages of Jeffrey Epstein files made public Friday, sources said.
And Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the DOJ discovered more than 1,200 victims and their families during the exhaustive review, explaining the process behind determining which files could be released in a letter to Congress exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.
Sources told Fox News Digital that new photos of Epstein with former President Bill Clinton are part of the release.
The Justice Department redacted the names and identifiers of victims. Fox News Digital has learned that the same redaction standards were applied to politically exposed individuals and government officials.
Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a letter written by Blanche to members of the House of Representatives regarding Friday’s anticipated release of the files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
‘We write to notify you that today the Department of Justice is producing hundreds of thousands of pages of responsive materials in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act,’ Blanche wrote.
‘Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, this unprecedented disclosure highlights our commitment to following the law, being transparent, and protecting victims,’ Blanche continued, noting that the production of documents comes within the 30 days required under the law signed by the president.
‘This letter will summarize the Department’s historic efforts and disclose specific details regarding the review and production process,’ Blanche continued.
‘Never in American history has a President or the Department of Justice been this transparent with the American people about such a sensitive law enforcement matter,’ he added. ‘Democrat administrations in the past have refused to provide full details of the Jeffrey Epstein saga. But President Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and FBI Director Patel are committed to providing full transparency consistent with the law.’
In November, the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed, requiring the government to release within 30 days all unclassified material in its possession related to Epstein’s and associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking cases.
President Donald Trump signed the bill into law in November.
The law allows the DOJ to omit or redact any references to victims and files that could jeopardize pending investigations or litigation, such as a probe Bondi recently opened in New York into Epstein’s ties to Democrats. Information could also be left out ‘in the interest of national defense or foreign policy,’ the law says.
Meanwhile, in the letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Blanche revealed that the Justice Department, through its sprawling internal process, learned of more than 1,200 victims.
‘This process resulted in over 1,200 names being identified as victims or their relatives,’ Blanche wrote. ‘We have redacted reference to such names. In addition to redacting the names of these victims, we have also redacted and are not producing any materials that could result in their identification.’
Blanche explained that ‘all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials that relate to: Jeffrey Epstein including all investigations, prosecutions, or custodial matters’ are being released.
Also being released are any records relating to ‘Ghislaine Maxwell; flight logs or travel records..for any aircraft, vessel, or vehicle owned, operated or used by Jeffrey Epstein or any related entity.’
The DOJ is releasing any records or documents with ‘individuals, including government officials, named or referenced in connection with Epstein’s criminal activities, civil settlements, immunity or plea agreements, or investigatory proceedings;’ as well as any ‘entities..with known or alleged ties to Epstein’s trafficking or financial networks.’
The documents will also reference ‘any immunity deals, non-prosecution agreements, plea bargains, or sealed settlements involving Epstein or his associates.’
The DOJ also is making public any ‘internal DOJ communications, including emails, memos, meeting notes, concerning decisions to charge, not charge, investigate, or decline to investigate Epstein or his associates,’ Blanche said.
The documents will also include ‘all communications, memorandum, directives, logs or metadata concerning the destruction, deletion, alteration, misplacement, or concealment of documents, recordings or electronic data related to Epstein, his associates, his detention and death, or any investigative files.’
Blanche also said that any ‘documentation of Epstein’s detention or death, including incident reports, witness interviews, medical examiner files, autopsy reports, and written records detailing the circumstances and cause of death’ will also be released.
Blanche said the DOJ is continuing to review additional documents and other items for ‘potential responsiveness.’
‘Just this week, one of the Department’s components provided additional victim information requiring updated review of materials, and in the last few weeks multiple courts have granted the Department’s unsealing motions, requiring detailed review of thousands of pages of investigative and grand jury material.’
Blanche pointed to a ruling in the Southern District of New York requiring ‘additional layers of review to minimize the risk of inadvertent production of protected victim information.’
‘We anticipate this ongoing review being completed over the next several weeks.’
Blanche explained that prior to the passage of the new Epstein law, the DOJ conducted ‘a thorough review, including digital searches of databases, hard drives, and network drives as well as searches of real and personal properties.’
‘This review did not reveal credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals, nor did it undercover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,’ Blanche explained. He added that judges in the Southern District of Florida and the Southern District of New York have authorized the DOJ to produce materials ‘previously prohibited from production by protective orders and grand jury secrecy laws.’
Blanche explained that the review protocol instructed attorneys to redact or withhold material that contained personally identifiable information of victims; depicted or contained child sexual abuse materials…; would jeopardize an active investigation or prosecution; depicted images of death, physical abuse, or injury; and property classified national defense or foreign policy information.’
‘Protecting victims is of the highest priority for President Trump, the Attorney General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Justice,’ Blanche wrote. ‘As part of the review and production, the Department solicited counsel for any victims of Jeffrey Epstein and invited counsel to provide us with names of victims, whether previously identified or not.
‘This process resulted in over 1,200 names being identified as victims or their relatives,’ Blanche wrote. ‘We have redacted reference to such names. In addition to redacting the names of these victims, we have also redacted and are not producing any materials that could result in their identification.’
Blanche said the Justice Department’s review team consisted of more than 200 DOJ attorneys working to determine whether materials were responsive under the Act and, if so, whether redactions or withholding was required.
The review had multiple layers, according to Blanche, including 187 attorneys from the DOJ’s National Security Division conducting a review of all items for responsiveness. Next, a quality control team of 25 attorneys conducted a second-level review to ensure that victims’ personal identifying information was properly redacted and that materials that should not be redacted were not marked for redaction.
Then, assistant U.S. attorneys from the Southern District of New York reviewed the responsive materials to confirm appropriate redactions.
‘The Department will continue to follow the Review Protocol and add to the public website materials that are responsive under the Act, and the Department will inform Congress when that review and production are complete by the end of this year,’ Blanche said.
‘The Department’s commitment to transparency, following the law, and protecting all victims under the leadership of President Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and FBI Director Patel will never waver.’
Fox News’ Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.
