就在周五司法部之后不久发布了数百万份附加文件与对被定罪的性犯罪者杰弗里·爱泼斯坦的调查相关，但保留了其他人，关键的国会民主党人要求对部分释放做出解释。
《爱泼斯坦文件透明法案》(Epstein Files Transparency Act)的作者之一、加利福尼亚州民主党众议员罗·卡纳(Ro Khanna)指出，司法部表示，这些文件中有600万页“可能有反应的页面”，但在审查和编辑后，只公布了350万页。
“这就提出了为什么其余的被扣留的问题。我将仔细审查，看看他们是否发布了我一直在推动的东西，”卡纳在一份声明中说。
“不公布这些文件只会包庇涉案的权势人物，损害公众对我们机构的信任，”他补充道。
司法部副部长托德·布兰奇说，司法部星期五没有公布所有的文件由于存在儿童性虐待材料和受害者权利义务。
周五晚些时候，卡纳和肯塔基州的共和党众议员托马斯·马西(Thomas Massie)给布兰奇写了一封信，要求召开一次面对面的会议，以审查未经编辑的爱泼斯坦文件材料。托马斯·马西是两党二人组的另一半，率先通过法律授权DOJ公布爱泼斯坦文件。
“我们在一些领域看到了全面的编辑方法，而在其他情况下，受害者的名字根本没有被编辑，”这封信说。“没有完整的记录，国会无法正确评估司法部对爱泼斯坦和麦克斯韦尔案件的处理。因此，我们请求您协助我们尽快安排对这些未经编辑的材料进行安全的亲自审查。”
在周五的新闻发布会上，布兰奇说，由于其敏感性，几类页面没有发布。这些项目包括受害者的个人身份信息、受害者的医疗档案、描绘儿童色情的图像、与正在进行的案件有关的信息以及描绘死亡或虐待的任何图像。
他反驳了司法部可能保护特朗普不让他的名字出现在文件中的观点。
“我们遵守该法案，没有‘保护特朗普总统’。”“我们没有保护或不保护任何人，”布兰奇说，当被美国广播公司新闻首席司法记者皮埃尔托马斯提问。我的意思是，我认为有一种对信息的渴望，我不认为通过审查这些文件可以满足这种渴望。对此我无能为力。"
参议院少数党领袖查克·舒默(Chuck Schumer)在X的一份声明中表示，他正在审查这些文件，并对司法部长帕姆·邦迪(Pam Bondi)有几个问题，包括关于失踪的页面。
“你说所有的文件都公布了。这包括所有的共谋者备忘录、公司保护备忘录、棕榈滩警察局的原始报告等吗??"他在声明中说。" 10个被指控的爱泼斯坦同谋的所有相关信息都已经公布了吗?"
“每一份提到特朗普这个词的文件都发布了吗?”舒默补充道。
众议院监督和政府改革委员会的民主党人罗伯特·加西亚(Robert Garcia)也在一份声明中表示，他对仍未发布的信息量感到担忧，称这种情况“令人愤慨和担忧”
“监督委员会的传票指示帕姆·邦迪向委员会公布所有文件，同时保护幸存者。他们违反了法律，”他说。
“我们要求知道爱泼斯坦的同谋以及虐待妇女和女孩的男人和恋童癖的名字。我们将开始彻底审查这一最新的有限生产，但让我们清楚:我们的工作和调查才刚刚开始，”他补充说。
Key Democratic lawmakers demand DOJ explain only partial Epstein files release
Not long after the Justice Department on Fridayreleased millions of additional filesrelated to the probe of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein -- but withheld others -- key congressional Democrats demanded explanations about the partial release.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, one of the authors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act requiring the release, noted that the Justice Department said there were 6 million "potentially responsive pages" from the files, but was releasing only 3.5 million pages after review and redactions.
"This raises questions as to why the rest are being withheld. I will be reviewing closely to see if they release what I’ve been pushing for," Khanna said in a statement.
"Failing to release these files only shields the powerful individuals who were involved and hurts the public’s trust in our institutions," he added.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department did not release all of the files Fridaydue to the presence of child sexual abuse material and victim rights obligations.
Later Friday, Khanna and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, the other half of the bipartisan duo that spearheaded the law mandating DOJ release the Epstein files, sent a letter to Blanche requesting an in-person meeting to review unredacted Epstein files material.
"We have seen a blanket approach to redactions in some areas, while in other cases, victim names were not redacted at all," the letter stated. "Congress cannot properly assess the Department’s handling of the Epstein and Maxwell cases without access to the complete record. Accordingly, we request your assistance in arranging a secure, in-person review of these unredacted materials at the Department’s earliest convenience."
At a press conference Friday, Blanche said several categories of pages were withheld from the release due to their sensitive nature. These items include personally identifying information of the victims, victims' medical files, images depicting child pornography, information related to ongoing cases, and any images depicting death or abuse.
He pushed back on the notion that the Justice Department might have protected Trump from his name appearing in the files.
"We comply with the act, and there is no 'protect President Trump.' We didn't protect or not protect anybody," Blanche said when questioned by ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas. "I mean, I think that there's a hunger or a thirst for information that I do not think will be satisfied by the review of these documents. And there's nothing I can do about that."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement on X that he was reviewing the files and had several questions for Attorney General Pam Bondi, including about the missing pages.
"You say all the documents are released. Does that include ALL of the co-conspirator memos, the corporate protection memos, the original Palm Beach Police Department reports, etc.?" he said in his statement. "Has all the relevant information been released on each of the 10 alleged Epstein co-conspirators?"
"Has every document that mentions the word Trump been released?" Schumer added.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, also said in a statement he had concerns about the amount of information still unreleased, calling the situation "outrageous and concerning."
"The Oversight Committee subpoena directs Pam Bondi to release all the files to the committee, while protecting survivors. They are in violation of the law," he said.
"We are demanding the names of Epstein’s co-conspirators and the men and pedophiles who abused women and girls. We will begin a thorough review of this latest limited production, but let's be clear: our work and investigation are just getting started," he added.
