(Washington) The US Department of Justice will allow members of Congress to view the unpublished version of the files in the Jeffrey Epstein case, convicted of sex crimes, starting Monday, according to a letter addressed to lawmakers.
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The letter obtained by The Associated Press says lawmakers will be able to see unreleased versions of the more than 3 million records the Justice Department has made public to comply with a law passed by Congress last year.
To access the records, lawmakers will have to give 24 hours’ notice to the Justice Department. They will be able to consult the files on the computers of the Ministry of Justice. Only lawmakers, not their staff, will have access to the records, and they will be allowed to take notes, but not make electronic copies.
The agreement, first reported by NBC News, reflects the continued demand for information about Epstein and his crimes from lawmakers, even after the Justice Department mobilized many of its employees to comply with the law passed by Congress last year.
The Justice Department has been criticized for delays in releasing records, for not releasing all of the victims’ personal information and photos, and for not releasing all of the 6 million documents collected about Epstein.
Still, lawmakers calling for transparency called the Justice Department’s concession a victory.
“When Congress fights back, it can prevail,” Representative Ro Khanna, who sponsored the so-called “Epstein Files Transparency Act,” celebrated on social media.
Mr. Khanna highlighted several emails exchanged between Epstein and people whose information was published and which appeared to refer to sexual abuse of minors.
The release of the files sparked worldwide investigations into the men who associated with the influential financier. Lawmakers, however, continue to push for anyone who knew about Epstein’s abuse or may have helped facilitate it to be brought to justice.
Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in a New York prison cell in 2019 while accused of sexually assaulting and trafficking dozens of minors. The case came to court more than a decade after he secretly struck a deal with federal prosecutors in Florida to get rid of nearly identical charges.
Epstein was accused of paying hundreds of dollars in cash to minors for massages and then sexually assaulting them.
