WASHINGTON, D.C.—Following is a statement by Amb. Norm Eisen (ret) , executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund, on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) continued failure to fully release all eligible files relating to the Epstein investigation, as required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

“These documents were due more than a month ago. Speaking at the Justice Department today, Todd Blanche announced that the Department had likely made its final release of documents.  But, while Blanche said the Department reviewed roughly six million records it only plans to release about three million. Worse, he conceded the Department has been redacting records beyond what the law allows.

“They are trying to sell this as full compliance and the ‘complete’ Epstein record. But everything about their rollout signals the same old playbook: heavy redactions, selective disclosure, and a public-facing archive that does not reliably reflect what the government actually has.

“Again, the Department says: trust us. Again, we will not take up their insincere offer. In the hours and days ahead, we will scrutinize every page. We have litigation pending, and we are prepared to use every available legal remedy to compel full compliance and complete production, while taking every step to protect the privacy and dignity of the victims.”

Following the previous document dump, DDF launched What We’ve Learned So Far, an analysis and summary of the small tranche of files released and providing insight into what the DOJ had not yet produced.

Earlier this month, DDF requested that the DOJ’s Office of Inspector General conduct a comprehensive audit into the DOJ’s failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Last Fall, the organization also filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s DOJ over the refusal to release the Trump-Epstein files. The lawsuit follows a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests DDF has made to the federal government seeking records from its investigations of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

The organization is specifically seeking records mentioning President Trump or his Mar-a-Lago residence, as well as communications among top DOJ leaders relating to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, including discussions of how department officials should address references to Donald Trump or Mar-a-Lago in any files. The requests also seek records of any communications between top leadership at DOJ and Bureau of Prisons (BOP) related to the transfer of Ghislaine Maxwell to a cushy prison camp, following her meeting with Trump’s former personal attorney, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

#          #          #

Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.