From PBS NewsHour.
Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to unredact the names of men in Epstein documents in a House oversight hearing Wednesday.
“We have to make sure we tell those predators there is no place for them to hide, and if they commit the crime, they’re going to fry for it,” Correa said. “It starts with showing us the names of the perpetrators in the Epstein files.”
Bondi said her department had to make redaction decisions very quickly. She described their error rate as low, but acknowledged there are mistakes.
“If any man’s name was redacted that should not have been, we will, of course, unredact it. If a victim’s name was unredacted, please bring it to us and we will redact it,” Bondi said.
The Department of Justice has released millions of pages of Epstein-related documents, photographs and messages. But it missed its deadline by more than a month, and the releases have been mired by missed redactions and accusations of key omissions. Millions of pages related to the investigation into the late convicted sex offender remain inaccessible, though the White House defends its review as thorough and complete. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has demanded more transparency, accusing the government of failing to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed in November, and survivors released a Super Bowl ad telling Bondi “it’s time for the truth.”
Wednesday’s hearing offers an opportunity for lawmakers to question Bondi on a number of controversial issues involving the Justice Department, including around the Trump administration’s failure to meet a Congress-mandated deadline to release all of its Epstein files; the legal justification for the administration’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific; as well as prosecutions of perceived Trump political rivals like James Comey and Letitia James. Bondi is seeking to revive both cases, which were already thrown out by a U.S. district judge.
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