The Department of Justice removed public access to several thousand investigation documents in the Jeffrey Epstein case due to redaction errors, Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote in a letter to Manhattan federal judges Monday.
The documents, which were released Friday and posted to the DOJ’s website, “may have inadvertently included victim-identifying information due to various factors, including technical or human error,” Bondi wrote.
Bondi submitted the letter to the court a day after lawyers representing several of Epstein’s victims requested the DOJ remove the documents posted online, citing “thousands of redaction failures.” The lawyers said the documents contained identifying information related to the victims.
Bondi wrote that the DOJ has removed “nearly all of those materials specifically identified by victims or their counsel,” as well as “a substantial number of documents identified independently by the Department.”
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The Justice Department is reviewing the newly released documents to “identify any other documents that may require further redaction,” according to the letter. Bondi, along with co-signers Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, said that the department has revised its protocols in response to victims’ requests over the weekend.
“The first 24 hours of engagement on these issues, as well as the Department’s own internal review of its processes, following the release of documents on Friday led to significant enhancements to and streamlining of the Department’s processes for addressing victim concern,” DOJ officials wrote.
Documents flagged by victims will be removed from the Epstein Library website while Justice officials review the material for potential redactions or other measures, the letter said. The redacted documents will be reposted within 24 to 36 hours.
More than 3 million pages of documents, including photos, were published Friday in adherence to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the culmination of a monthslong effort by Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna to push the legislation through Congress. Friday’s documents drop came weeks after the mandated deadline for all files on Dec. 19, 2025.
Bondi wrote Monday that unredacted versions of the Epstein files will remain available to lawmakers.
“The Department has committed to work with House and Senate leadership to allow members of Congress to inspect unredacted versions of the produced materials to demonstrate that the redactions have been imposed consistent with the requirements of the Act, including the protections of victim-identifying information,” Bondi added.
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