Chilling Trump admission proves DOJ's Epstein botch was no mistake

Marjorie Taylor Greene once said Donald Trump told her his “friends will get hurt” if the Epstein files were released. It might be the most unselfish thing he ever said. Then again …

Whether they were friends or not, many very rich and powerful men have been more smeared than hurt by revelations in Epstein releases so far. That is the problem with these document dumps: they raise suspicions while answering almost nothing, appearing to approach the line of illicit conduct without explaining more.

The millions of pages released create more questions than answers. Only the victims and survivors hold the truth. That is why this moment is so precarious.

Late last year, when the Trump Department of Justice started releasing files related to the late financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, Americans were promised transparency and completeness. The public was assured that victims’ identities would be protected, personal information carefully redacted, survivors spared further harm.

None of that turned out to be true.

The first two document dumps were saturated with redactions, often to the point of excess. By the third release, the DOJ had gone through two practice rounds. Nonetheless, it failed to get it right

Instead of shielding survivors, the DOJ exposed names, email addresses, and other personal identifiers of people victimized in Epstein’s orbit. Reporters documented multiple instances in which victims’ names were left unredacted — even names that were obscured in earlier versions of the same documents.

In some cases, email addresses and sensitive data were only superficially crossed out, remaining visible or easily recoverable.

Worse, the New York Times found dozens of nude photographs of women and girls, with faces plainly visible, despite explicit assurances that all such images had been obscured.

These were not one or two stray images, overlooked in a massive release. They numbered nearly 40 and included fully nude bodies and identifying features.

Nor was it just a handful of names. More than a hundred appeared, some with references to family members.

The DOJ offered a convoluted explanation, insisting such errors represented only a tiny fraction of millions of pages released. But the scale and nature of what “slipped through” cannot be waved away.

Had the DOJ mistakenly published one or two identifiers or images, human error might be a plausible explanation. But releasing dozens of explicit images and repeatedly exposing unredacted names moves far beyond incompetence.

What this resembles is a strategy — to expose survivors to shame, harassment, danger, thereby ensuring their silence.

This contradiction sits squarely at the heart of DOJ conduct under Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Not only did they botch the Epstein files release, but they first lied and obfuscated for nearly a year. To add insult to injury, Blanche took the extraordinary step of meeting Epstein’s partner in crime, Ghislaine Maxwell, to the horror of victims and survivors.

Blanche and other senior officials repeatedly insisted protecting victims was a priority. But actions speak louder than press releases. Declaring the review “finished” after a chaotic release that repeatedly exposed survivors’ identities undermines such claims entirely.

The impact was immediate and chilling. Survivors reported harassment, threats, and renewed trauma. The very people the law was meant to protect were placed in harm’s way.

Viewed in context of DOJ conduct in 2025 and early 2026, this was not an outlier. The department has been accused of politicizing prosecutions, forcing out hundreds of career prosecutors, publicly denouncing judges, and wielding extraordinary legal authority in ways that defy long-standing norms.

Whether in the targeting of Trump’s opponents, interventions in immigration enforcement, or mishandling of sensitive legal materials, a clear pattern emerges: at this DOJ, when Trump and his “friends” face exposure or loss of power, process and fairness take a back seat.

The Epstein saga has always been about power. In 2007-08, Epstein escaped meaningful federal prosecution through a secret sweetheart deal that immunized co-conspirators and denied victims their legal rights.

He served a paltry 13-month sentence, much of it under work release, mocking the concept of justice. That set the tone for all that followed. Epstein continued his crimes without fear, protected by power while victims were coerced into silence.

Fast forward to today, and the department charged with upholding the law appears to be repeating the script. The uneven redaction of the Epstein files did more than retraumatize survivors. It sent an unmistakable message to anyone considering coming forward: don’t.

Scores of names left visible across millions of pages, and more than 40 nude images released with faces clearly identifiable, cannot be explained away as innocent mistakes.

These failures undermine every claim that protecting survivors was a true priority. Once again, the survivors did not matter.

But they matter more than ever. They may be the only remaining source of truth. We should expect no further meaningful document releases or cooperation from the DOJ. Trump and his “friends” want Epstein buried.

That leaves one path forward. If the truth is ever fully known, it will be because survivors speak. By exposing names and images, last week’s release was a last-gasp attempt by the powerful to threaten, shame, and silence those who hold the answers.

The DOJ owes the public more than excuses. It owes survivors a full accounting of how this happened and who authorized it. But don’t hold your breath.

If this moment passes without accountability, the message to victims everywhere will be unmistakable: justice in America is not blind, and it protects the powerful far more fiercely than the powerless.

• John Casey was most recently Senior Editor, The Advocate, and is a freelance opinion and feature story writer. Previously, he was a Capitol Hill press secretary, and spent 25 years in media and public relations in NYC. He is the co-author of LOVE: The Heroic Stories of Marriage Equality (Rizzoli, 2025), named by Oprah in her "Best 25 of 2025.”