Clinton’s press secretary argued that selectively releasing documents such as photos of the former president could hint at wrongdoing involving people who have been “repeatedly arrested.”
Epstein files to be dropped on legal day, but remain incomplete
The Justice Department released the Epstein file in response to the Epstein File Transparency Act, but many documents are still missing.
WASHINGTON – Former President Bill Clinton’s press secretary has called on the Justice Department to release all documents related to the investigation into sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein to avoid intimations of wrongdoing against people who have been “repeatedly acquitted.”
Documents released by the Justice Department on Friday under the new law included photos of Clinton, including one in a hot tub and one with celebrities.
But the department was criticized for withholding hundreds of thousands of pages of additional documents from women who accused Epstein of abuse, members of Congress and Clinton’s chief of staff, Angel Urena.
Urena said in a social media post on Monday, Dec. 22, that there was no need to protect Clinton by releasing all remaining documents that mention or include photos of her.
But “selective disclosures to hint at wrongdoing” would confirm “pervasive suspicions” that the disclosures were about “innuendo” hinting at wrongdoing, not transparency, Urena said.
Congress approved and President Donald Trump signed a bill requiring the release by Dec. 19 of all department files that do not include the names of alleged victims, depictions of child sexual abuse, or anything that would adversely affect the prosecution of a case.
However, in releasing hundreds of thousands of documents, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche acknowledged on Friday, December 19, that hundreds of thousands more documents are still being reviewed. He also told Congress that some documents could be withheld under legal privilege, which covers things like lawyers’ internal deliberations and communications with clients.
Blanche said more documents would be released in the coming weeks. The law requires the ministry to list the documents that have been withheld from release and to explain the reasons for the decision within 15 days.
Two members of Congress threatened to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt over the release of some of the documents. But Bondi said the Trump administration is the most transparent in history.
In November, President Trump asked the Justice Department to investigate the relationship between Clinton and Epstein. The former president faces a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee.
But Urena pointed to a Dec. 16 Vanity Fair interview with Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles, saying Trump was wrong to say that Clinton visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island, Little St. James.
“There is no evidence,” Wiles told Vanity Fair. “The president was wrong about that.”
