Epstein affair | Criticisms of the management of the file are increasing

(Washington) Criticism of the American government’s management of the thorny Epstein case increased on Sunday, with the Democratic opposition accusing Donald Trump of seeking to cover up the affair through his partial, and largely redacted, publication of the investigation documents.

“All of this aims to hide things that, for one reason or another, Donald Trump does not want to make public, whether it is about himself, other members of his family, his friends, Jeffrey Epstein or simply the circle (…) that he frequented for at least a decade,” Democratic elected official Jamie Raskin lambasted Sunday on CNN.

After months of delay, the Trump administration began publishing thousands of photos, videos and texts on Friday about this wealthy financier and sex criminal known for having frequented high-profile personalities, including the current president and his distant Democratic predecessor Bill Clinton.

But the entire file was not made public that day as provided for by the law at the origin of this transparency effort, and many published files were largely redacted, like a document completely blacked out on 119 pages.

Read the article “What the new documents don’t show”

And a good dozen images were then deleted from the file on Saturday, according to American media, reinforcing criticism from elected officials and victims, while the Department of Justice said it would continue to analyze and redact these files “based on new information” received.

“The victims of this ordeal (…) deserve total and complete transparency,” thundered Hakeem Jeffries, leader of the Democratic minority in the House of Representatives on Sunday on ABC, calling for an investigation into possible failings by the administration.

Figure of the New York jet set of the 1990s, Jeffrey Epstein is accused of having sexually exploited more than a thousand young women, including minors, and died in prison before being tried for these crimes.

This affair, revealed in 2019, has hit a number of American and foreign celebrities, including Andrew, brother of King Charles III, incriminated by one of the victims, but who proclaims his innocence.

Mr. Epstein’s prison death that same year, attributed to suicide by authorities, fueled countless conspiracy theories that he was murdered to prevent him from implicating elites.

This scandal today pollutes the presidency of Donald Trump, who after saying he was in favor of publishing the file made an about-face before giving in to pressure from Congress, including elected officials from his own party.

The Republican, who swears to have never known anything about the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and to have cut ties before he was concerned by justice, has not commented on the affair since the publication of the documents on Friday, some of which concern him.