Beginning today, members of Congress may review the unredacted Justice Department files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, based upon an agreement between the lawmakers and the DOJ. A letter that details an agreement, seen by AP, was the result of months of wrangling over what is considered excessive blacking out of the documents. Now, the lawmakers are allowed to view the unredacted versions at the DOJ, but under strained conditions: no staff members, no electronic copies, and prior notice (of at least 24 hours) to access the documents.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) told CNN yesterday morning that the fight will escalate. He said that if the DOJ continued to withhold the identities of Epstein’s alleged clients, he would make them public by getting the names from the victims. “If the victims want to give them to me, I’ve expressed that I’m willing to do that.” He termed this his “nuclear option.”
