Epstein's Victims Are Furious

"Jeffrey Epstein's victims began the day believing they might finally get something they'd been requesting for years: a direct conversation with the nation's top law-enforcement official before the Justice Department made public a full trove of long-buried documents and photos. The release of the Epstein files, as the department's hundreds of thousands of investigative materials have come to be known, might finally provide clarity on what the government knew about Epstein's sex-trafficking scheme and when it knew it."

"On the call, the officials previewed what would and wouldn't be in the disclosure: photographs, yes; videos, no. Victims' names would be redacted. At one point, according to a person familiar with the conversation, the officials suggested that if video exists, it may still be in the possession of the Epstein estate-an assertion that raised alarms among survivors who have long believed that recordings were used as leverage and blackmail."

"This morning, the Justice Department indicated via email to the group that Bondi would speak with survivors and expressed support for them, according to people familiar with the correspondence. But soon after, they were told that the attorney general would not be available after all, due to a medical appointment. One DOJ official familiar with Bondi's schedule told me the attorney general "was at Walter Reed today for a prescheduled routine appointment," and emphasized that "no call was missed" because "that meeting was never scheduled.""

Jeffrey Epstein's victims expected a direct conversation with the nation's top law-enforcement official before the Justice Department released a large trove of documents and photos. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche contacted a survivors' support group the day before the release and previewed the disclosure contents: photographs would be included, videos would not, and victims' names would be redacted. Officials suggested any existing video might remain with the Epstein estate, alarming survivors who suspect recordings were used for blackmail. The Justice Department later informed the group that Bondi would speak, then said she was unavailable due to a medical appointment.

Read at The Atlantic