DOJ Court Filing Indicates Trump Admin Hasn’t Moved On From Epstein Case
The Justice Department notified a federal court that it is conducting an ongoing review of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as part of a Freedom of Information Act case filed by Judicial Watch.
On Monday, the Department of Justice and Judicial Watch submitted a joint status report regarding the watchdog group’s lawsuit from April about a FOIA request made in February for records related to Epstein, Just the News reported. Part of Judicial Watch’s request was for records “depicting the identities of clients or associates of Epstein.”
The watchdog group filed the lawsuit against both the DOJ and FBI after “they failed to adequately respond to three separate FOIA request.”
In the joint status report that the legal group released Thursday, it says that, regarding any and all Epstein records, “the FBI has run its initial searches and is in the process of reviewing those search results.”
The report also said that for records of communications of FBI Director Kash Patel regarding the Epstein client list, “the FBI’s search efforts are ongoing.”
The government has yet to release any documents or provide details on when they might be made public or how many will ultimately be disclosed, Just the News reported further.
The report was filed a day after a joint Justice Department-FBI memo obtained by Axios was published, in which it said a “systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list.’ There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”
“The Justice Department and FBI are sending out contradictory messages: telling the American people that no more Epstein material will be released, while telling the federal court in our case that the Epstein FOIA review is proceeding,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton noted in a statement last week following the publication of the memo.
“But no matter, our FOIA lawsuit for the Epstein material continues. We will be relentless in demanding transparency under law,” he added.
Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for child sex trafficking and related crimes. While campaigning, President Trump repeatedly vowed to release the Epstein files on day one of his administration. Early in his term, Attorney General Pam Bondi echoed that promise but ultimately distributed information to influencers that was already publicly available.
In May, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino sought to put an end to persistent conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein’s 2019 death in a Manhattan jail while he awaited trial, reaffirming the official conclusion that he died by suicide.
Pundit Sean Spicer on Thursday resurfaced a March interview with attorney Alan Dershowitz, in which Dershowitz claimed to have knowledge of a list of Epstein’s alleged clients.
“I know the names of the individuals. I know why they’re being suppressed. I know who’s suppressing them,” Dershowitz told the host during an appearance on “The Sean Spicer Show” that was originally broadcast on March 19 and was reposted on social media last week.
“But I’m bound by confidentiality from a judge and cases, and I can’t disclose what I know,” he added, going on to say that he was once falsely accused of being a client.
He also said during his interview with Spicer that the list is being withheld in an effort to “protect” those involved with Epstein’s crimes.
“I know the names of people whose files are being suppressed in order to protect them, and that’s wrong,” he told Spicer.
One of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre, died by suicide earlier this year after a prolonged illness and decades of trauma stemming from sexual abuse.
