DOJ's 'Transparency': Epstein Files Released With Wide Redactions
The Justice Department, under Donald Trump, has magnanimously released thousands of Jeffrey Epstein files, a move Axios celebrates as fulfilling a 'campaign promise' and an act of 'transparency.' The same report, however, quickly pivots to acknowledge that these files are heavily redacted. Redactions are conveniently justified to 'protect ongoing investigations'—such as those into Bill Clinton and
Larry Summers—and, of course, 'national security concerns.' One might wonder if 'national security' now extends to shielding the politically inconvenient. So, the 'long-expected' release required by the 'Epstein Files Transparency Act' (which Trump initially resisted, then signed) delivers a digital mountain of paper with entire sections blacked out. This isn't transparency; it’s a controlled leak
designed to appear forthcoming while protecting those at the highest echelons. It's the equivalent of handing you a book and then saying, 'Here, but don't read every other page.' How many more 'transparency' acts will it take before we actually see what's hidden in plain sight?