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Starting Monday, Congress members will have the opportunity to examine unredacted documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as per a letter dispatched to legislators by the Department of Justice.
This letter, accessed by The Associated Press, indicates that the legislators can inspect the complete versions of over 3 million documents released by the Justice Department. This release is in line with a legislative mandate enacted by Congress the previous year.
To view these documents, officials must provide the Justice Department with a 24-hour advance notice.
The review will take place on Department of Justice computers, exclusively available to lawmakers. While they can jot down notes during their review, creating electronic duplicates of the documents is prohibited, and staff members are not permitted access.
Initially reported by NBC News, this setup underscores the ongoing congressional interest in Epstein’s case and related offenses, even as the Justice Department allocates substantial resources to meet the legislative requirements established last year.
The Justice Department has come under criticism for delays in the release of information, failing to redact the personal information and photos of victims and not releasing the entire 6 million documents collected in relation to Epstein.
Still, lawmakers central to the push for transparency, described the concession by the Justice Department as a victory.
“When Congress pushes back, Congress can prevail,” Rep. Ro Khanna, who sponsored what’s known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act, posted on social media.
Khanna has pointed to several emails between Epstein and individuals whose information was redacted that appeared to refer to the sexual abuse of underage girls.
The release of the case files has prompted inquiries around the world about men who cavorted with the well-connected financier.
Still, lawmakers are pressing for a further reckoning over anyone who may have had knowledge of Epstein’s abuse or could have helped facilitate it.
Epstein killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019 while he faced charges that he sexually abused and trafficked dozens of underage girls.
The case was brought more than a decade after he secretly cut a deal with federal prosecutors in Florida to dispose of nearly identical allegations.
Epstein was accused of paying underage girls hundreds of dollars in cash for massages and then molesting them.