After being pointed out by American media for “voluntarily concealing” files in the Epstein case, the US Department of Justice has released new documents that were “mistakenly” withheld.
The American Department of Justice, under pressure after being accused of deliberately hiding documents in the Epstein case mentioning Donald Trump, released a new batch of files on Thursday, March 5, as announced by Associated Press. These additional documents include unverified accusations of sexual assault on a minor made by a woman against the American president.
The existence of these files was revealed by the American press, which reported documents “voluntarily” hidden for mentioning Donald Trump. However, the ministry responded that these files were withheld “by mistake.”
Last week, the Department of Justice explained that the files were “incorrectly classified as duplicates,” and therefore were not released with the other documents.
Donald Trump Accused of Sexual Assault on a Minor
On Tuesday, the American justice system had already warned that it would publish over 47,000 documents related to the Epstein case, after a thorough review to ensure victim anonymity.
“Our team is working tirelessly to address the concerns of the victims, redact identifiable personal information, and any sexually explicit images,” wrote Justice Ministry spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre, cited by CBS News.
Among these documents are accusations by a plaintiff against Donald Trump. Questioned four times by the FBI, she had come forward after the arrest of the New York financier and claimed to have been sexually assaulted decades ago, as a minor, by Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump.
These accusations have always been denied by the American president, claiming to have never been aware of Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal activities when they were in contact.
Under the transparency law passed by Congress, the Ministry of Justice had already declassified initial documents in January in the Epstein case, sparking international outrage and multiple resignations. Nearly 3 million pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images depicted episodes from the criminal’s life, with most documents featuring young women.
