On Friday, Feb.6, the Department of Justice released another three million pages of the Epstein files. Almost immediately, nearly 100 of the victims issued a statement demanding that thousands of documents be taken down because they contained information compromising their identities. These documents included photos and email addresses that could easily be used to identify victims. Many of the victims whose information was leaked weren’t previously publicly identified. The Justice Department took down the documents but at that point it didn’t matter- the victims’ identities were already out there.
Not enough people are outraged at the carelessness of the Department of Justice when it came to protecting the identities of Epstein’s victims. The Office of Public Affairs of the Justice Department released a statement explicitly stating that they added an additional review protocol to ensure that no identifiable information about the victims would be released, yet almost 100 victims just had their lives up-ended because the DOJ was sloppy. They redacted almost every other piece of information in the files, but somehow skipped the email addresses and photos of victims. Epstein’s victims had three demands when it came to these files: They wanted all documents disclosed, they wanted those documents to be released on the agreed upon date, and they wanted all the victim’s identities to be redacted. The Department of Justice has now violated all of their demands.
People are so focused on what notable politicians and elite are in the files and who else will be named. Of course those names are important, but what about the victims? What about all the survivors who tried to move past the horrors they faced and live a normal life just to have their lives ruined because the Department of Justice was careless? I’m not saying that the names of those involved with Epstein shouldn’t be released, but the country is only focused on the names, not on getting justice for the victims, which was made clear by the Justice Department’s negligence. Prince Andrew is a perfect example of how justice is not being served. He was heavily involved with Epstein and when serious allegations came out about him sexually assaulting women, the worst thing that happened was that he was disowned from the Royal Family. He’s not in jail. He’s not paying his dues in any real sense. And this is probably what’s going to happen to most of the people listed in the Epstein files. It’s unlikely that any of the people listed will face consequences even remotely equitable to the atrocities committed because they have the money, the status, and the access to get away with minimal damage.
These files are not part of a Bravo reality TV drama. These disgusting acts happened to real women and children. As a nation we need to stop theorizing about who else may be in the files and demand justice. We can’t overlook or ignore those who were involved. At the very least, the Department of Justice’s main priority should be ensuring that the identities of all the victims remain anonymous and respect their right to privacy.
