Resurfaced Clip Shows DOJ Official Saying GOP Will Be Redacted From Epstein Files

Resurfaced undercover footage appears to show a senior Justice Department official saying the agency would 'redact every Republican' from the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The video, published by O'Keefe Media Group's Project Veritas, shows Joseph Schnitt, described in the clip as an acting deputy chief at the Department of Justice, telling an undercover operative that the DOJ intended to remove Republican and conservative names from documents related to Epstein.

The footage has provoked bipartisan outrage, prompted a forceful departmental response, and intensified congressional demands for an unredacted release of files. The Department of Justice says the comments do not reflect agency policy and that Schnitt had no role in the internal review of Epstein materials.

What the Footage Shows

In the recording, which was published online, the man identified as Schnitt can be heard saying, 'They will redact every Republican or conservative person in those files, leave all the liberal, Democratic people in those files, and have a very slanted version of it come out.' The clip runs as part of a longer sting operation by the O'Keefe group that arranged meetings via a dating app.

Schnitt also makes other explosive claims in the footage, including characterisations of decisions surrounding Ghislaine Maxwell's prison placement and suggestions that internal politics were shaping disclosure choices.

If accurate, such assertions would imply a politically selective approach to an issue of intense public importance. The footage has been shared widely on social media and repurposed by outlets across the political spectrum.

The DOJ Response and Schnitt's Statement

The Justice Department moved quickly to distance itself from the comments. On X, the DOJ wrote that the video 'has absolutely zero bearing with reality and reflect[s] a total lack of knowledge of the DOJ's review process' and reiterated its commitment to transparency and compliance with congressional requests. The department added that Schnitt 'had no role in the Department's internal review of Epstein materials'.

Schnitt himself subsequently posted a note on X saying that his remarks were 'personal comments on what I have learned in the media' and that he had 'no knowledge of the circumstances surrounding Ms Maxwell other than what is reported in the news'.

He also said he had been unaware he was being recorded and that the interactions took place after he met the operative on a dating app. The DOJ says it has received a written statement from him.

Legal and procedural experts contacted after the video's publication emphasised that DOJ document releases routinely require redactions to protect victims and ongoing investigations, but they said such redactions are governed by legal standards rather than partisan decisions. Those safeguards, experts argue, are meant to prevent the kind of politically selective editing alleged in the recording.

Political Fallout and Congressional Pressure

The clip has galvanized lawmakers on both sides. House Oversight Democrats issued a statement condemning the remarks and demanding clarification from the DOJ, while Republican members and conservative commentators used the revelation to argue that the department has been politically selective in previous disclosures. Ranking members of the Oversight Committee called for full transparency and immediate production of unredacted materials.

The controversy arrives amid a broader tug of war over tens of thousands of pages of material connected to the Epstein investigation. The House Oversight Committee has already released large batches of documents and pressed the DOJ for more; advocates for survivors and many lawmakers insist that only full, unredacted disclosure will resolve lingering questions about who was involved and who benefitted from secrecy.

Critics of the Project Veritas operation argue the sting's methods and the organisation's partisan history complicate public assessment of the clip's evidentiary value.

The resurfaced clip has intensified an already fraught battle over the Jeffrey Epstein records, turning procedural redactions into a test of public trust in the Justice Department.