The Department of Justice (DOJ) is covering who may have committed crimes with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, according to the journalist whose reporting led to Epstein's arrest.
On Tuesday, Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown tweeted an email between FBI agents from the DOJ's most recent release of Epstein documents that includes significant redactions. Both the sender and recipient's name are covered with black bars, and black bars appear to cover names throughout the document. The subject line of the email is "Co-conspirators," and was sent in July of 2019 – roughly one month before Epstein died in federal prison.
"When you get a chance can you give me an update on the status of the 10 CO conspirators?" An agent in the FBI's New York field office wrote. "Do we need [redacted] to head out on [redacted]?"
"[Redacted] does not need to head out. We made contact with [redacted] last night in NY," the email read. "Contact was made with [redacted], [redacted] and [redacted]."
"Attempts were made to [redacted] and Brunel," the email continued, which is an apparent reference to Epstein co-conspirator Jean-Luc Brunel, who died in a French prison in 2022 while awaiting trial for Epstein-related sex crimes. "[Redacted] is confirmed to live in NY but was away for the holiday weekend."
"Why are the names of Epstein's co-conspirators redacted?" Brown wrote on X.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act — which passed both chambers of Congress by near-unanimous margins and was signed into law by President Donald Trump in November — allows for the DOJ to redact Epstein documents in order to protect the names and identifying information of victims, and to not jeopardize ongoing investigations. However, Trump has recently expressed disdain for the DOJ's publishing of photos of "highly respected" people posing with Epstein, saying that those releases can "ruin a reputation."