Attorney General Calls Public Disclosure of Epstein Victims' Details 'Unforgivable'
“It’s horrible and inexcusable,” declared Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday, addressing the public exposure of identifying details concerning victims of Jeffrey Epstein during the recent release of extensive files linked to the criminal investigation of the notorious sex offender.
Last week, a group of Epstein's victims initiated legal action against both the Trump administration and Google, citing the unauthorized disclosure of their personal information found within the files over recent months.
“Sometimes it was genuine mistakes and that’s human, and that doesn’t make it right,” Blanche explained in an interview. “I’m not excusing that, but you’re talking about less than 1% by the way, as far as we know it’s fixed.”
The Justice Department has faced significant backlash regarding its management of the Epstein case review. Epstein, who had connections to powerful figures, died by suicide in federal custody while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019.
In December, Blanche, then serving as the second-in-command at the Justice Department, announced plans to release hundreds of thousands of files. However, only a small portion was made available initially.
By the end of January, millions more files were disclosed, although many were duplicates. Blanche noted that around 200,000 files were withheld or redacted for various legal reasons.
Defending the Justice Department’s file release efforts, Blanche stated, “We were criticized for not doing that work quickly enough. You’re talking about working through 6 million pieces of paper.”
He acknowledged the ongoing struggle for victims seeking closure, emphasizing that only one other individual has faced charges—Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's co-conspirator, who was convicted. Blanche dismissed any notion that President Trump would consider a pardon for Maxwell.
“So the big misconception is that the Department of Justice or me has ever said 'case closed.' What we have said is that from the information that we have within the Epstein files, we do not have a case against anybody,” he clarified.
In mid-November, Trump publicly named several prominent figures—including former President Bill Clinton and former Harvard University President Larry Summers—on his Truth Social platform, urging investigations into their connections with Epstein.
However, numerous high-profile individuals appear in the files, including Trump himself and several top administration officials. Clinton, Summers, and Reid Hoffman have all denied any wrongdoing and expressed regret over their associations with Epstein.
Summers apologized for his ongoing communications with Epstein and resigned from Harvard following revelations about their relationship. Clinton testified in a closed-door congressional session that he “saw nothing” and “did nothing wrong.”
In response to Trump's claims, Bondi stated she had requested U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton to lead the investigation. The current status of that inquiry remains uncertain.
