As criticism over the Justice Department’s limited release of documents from its Jeffrey Epstein investigation mounts, survivors of the convicted sex offender’s abuse have joined the calls for the government to make public all of its Epstein files.
Jess Michaels, who said she was raped by Epstein in 1991 and who has been a vocal advocate for the release of the DOJ files, said in an interview with MS NOW’s Nicole Wallace on Friday that she felt “highly emotional” after the release, but “strangely validated.”
“Because in plain sight, and even with an act of Congress, we’re seeing the exact same delays, negligence, corruption, incompetence that we’ve seen consistently,” Michaels said. “And so they’ve actually proved our point.”
The Justice Department released a trove of documents on Friday ahead of a midnight deadline, but it was not a full disclosure of all of its files on the late financier as was required by the law. Many of the documents were heavily redacted.
Lawmakers and others slammed the withholding of some documents, and congressional Democrats have said they are “examining all legal options in the face of this violation of federal law.”
Sky Roberts, the brother of the late Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most high-profile victims, told MS NOW’s Jen Psaki on Friday that the DOJ’s partial release was “disappointing.”
“It’s not shocking, unfortunately, though. We hoped that they would do the right thing, but we expected for them to not,” he said. “It’s mixed feelings right now.”
The documents released Friday include photos of Epstein with high-profile figures, including former president Bill Clinton and Michael Jackson.
Angel Ureña, deputy chief of staff for Clinton, said that the White House is “shielding themselves from what comes next, or from what they’ll try and hide forever.”
“So they can release as many grainy 20-plus-year-old photos as they want, but this isn’t about Bill Clinton,” Ureña said. She noted a recent Vanity Fair article in which the White House chief of staff disputed Trump’s claim there was incriminating information about Clinton in the files.“Even Susie Wiles said Donald Trump was wrong about Bill Clinton,” Ureña said.
A photo of President Donald Trump is shown in the lower left corner in one document that was initially included in the release, but that appears to have been removed from the Justice Department’s website. MS NOW has reached out to the DOJ for comment on the disappearance. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said they will investigate the apparent removal of that file.
Ahead of the release, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told ABC News in an interview Friday that there was “no effort” to conceal Trump’s name or that of any other famous people in the files.
“President Trump has certainly said from the beginning that he expects all files that can be released to be released and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Blanche said.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released documents related to their own investigation into Epstein that show several communications between Trump and Epstein. The president has accused Democrats of orchestrating a “hoax” over his relationship with the late financier.
Spencer Kuvin, an attorney who represents some of Epstein’s victims, told MS NOW that the Justice Department must be held accountable for not releasing all its files as required by the law.
“Is incredibly frustrating that yet again the Department of Justice has failed the victims,” Kuvin said in a statement. “Congress needs to immediately hold the Department of Justice accountable, or alternatively, the press needs to file suit immediately in federal court and ask a judge to require full and complete compliance. On behalf of the victims, it is our hope that there is some judicial oversight in both the disclosure as well as redactions of information.”
Maria Farmer, who has long said that her complaint about Epstein to the FBI in 1996 was ignored, said in a statement through her lawyer that the DOJ release made her “feel redeemed.”
“This is a moment for which I have waited three decades, over half of my life,” Farmer said. “I am also hopeful that this will be an important step for many of the survivors and to hold the government accountable for their grotesque law enforcement failure, one of the largest in U.S. history.”
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.