Victims of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's lawyers are pushing a federal court in New York to order the Justice Department to immediately take down its website hosting his files, citing widespread failures by the department to redact names and identifying information of Epstein's victims.
Attorneys Brittany Henderson and Brad Edwards, representing over 200 alleged Epstein victims, wrote a letter to US District Judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer, describing an "unfolding emergency" as thousands of redaction errors have been reported in the last 48 hours.
The department has acknowledged mistakes are inevitable but vowed to correct any errors brought to its attention. However, the lawyers argue that the DOJ's process is ill-suited to deal with the scope of the problem and claims that there is "no conceivable degree of institutional incompetence sufficient to explain the scale, consistency, and persistence of the failures that occurred."
The website has been criticized by survivors and lawmakers as insufficient and filled with redaction errors. A group of victims quoted in the letter expressed distress over their names being revealed, citing potential physical risks to themselves and their children.
In response to criticism, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Justice Department's procedures on ABC News' "This Week," saying that every mistake is immediately rectified. However, he acknowledged that some redaction errors may occur due to the volume of materials reviewed.
The lawyers are urging judges to step in urgently, stating that judicial intervention is essential for protecting victims who were promised protection but instead were exposed.
Attorneys Brittany Henderson and Brad Edwards, representing over 200 alleged Epstein victims, wrote a letter to US District Judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer, describing an "unfolding emergency" as thousands of redaction errors have been reported in the last 48 hours.
The department has acknowledged mistakes are inevitable but vowed to correct any errors brought to its attention. However, the lawyers argue that the DOJ's process is ill-suited to deal with the scope of the problem and claims that there is "no conceivable degree of institutional incompetence sufficient to explain the scale, consistency, and persistence of the failures that occurred."
The website has been criticized by survivors and lawmakers as insufficient and filled with redaction errors. A group of victims quoted in the letter expressed distress over their names being revealed, citing potential physical risks to themselves and their children.
In response to criticism, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Justice Department's procedures on ABC News' "This Week," saying that every mistake is immediately rectified. However, he acknowledged that some redaction errors may occur due to the volume of materials reviewed.
The lawyers are urging judges to step in urgently, stating that judicial intervention is essential for protecting victims who were promised protection but instead were exposed.
Can't believe the gov's got thousands of redaction errors on Epstein's files and still can't get it together 
Need some serious oversight ASAP 
I mean come on, 200+ victims and the DOJ still can't get it right? 
. The department is saying mistakes happen but when does "mistakes happen" become "we can't even be bothered to do the job right"? 
Those poor victims need better than just promises of protection, they need actual action! 
Can you believe this? 
It's insane to think that the DOJ's process is so flawed they can't even get it right. 200+ victims and counting? That's just unacceptable. 
The numbers are staggering - over 48 hours of redaction errors reported in the last 48 hours alone! 
And let's not forget the DOJ's own admission that mistakes are inevitable - no kidding! 
how can they expect us to trust them when it's so easy to find all these redaction errors? 
. we need more transparency and accountability from our government officials 
. it's not like they're trying to cover up anything, but this kind of sloppy work is just gonna make things worse 
. the victims' names being revealed is just the tip of the iceberg 
...
. These victims are being used as pawns in a bigger game. The DOJ's incompetence is just a cover-up. They're not making mistakes, they're trying to keep the truth hidden 
. I mean, think about it, if they were really so efficient, why do we have thousands of redaction errors? It's like they want us to see how bad their system is 
. I'm not saying the victims don't deserve justice, but let's not be fooled by this so-called "emerging emergency" 
. There's more going on here than meets the eye 
.