'This Is Breaking the Law': Epstein Survivors Rage as DOJ Blacks Out 119 Pages Judge Ordered Public

Epstein survivors erupted in fury on Friday after the Justice Department released thousands of heavily redacted files, with 119 pages of grand jury testimony that were completely blacked out despite a federal judge ordering their release.

'This is absolutely breaking the law,' Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told CNN on Friday evening. The partial release came exactly 30 days after President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which legally required the DOJ to make all unclassified records public by 19 December.

Hundreds of Pages Completely Blacked Out

According to PBS NewsHour, Rep. Ro Khanna, who co-authored the transparency legislation, expressed deep disappointment during an interview with Mary Louise Kelly. 'One of the documents, 119 pages that a federal judge wanted released, is totally redacted, and there's no explanation for the redactions,' Khanna said.

The release exposed more than 350 pages that were entirely blacked out. Sources close to survivors told CNN that anxiety was 'still running high' for women who had waited 30 days since the Act's passage for a chance to search for information about their own abuse cases.

Clinton and Jackson Photos Emerge Amid Redactions

Amongst the released material, new photographs show former President Bill Clinton in a hot tub with a person whose face has been redacted, according to CNN. Clinton also appears in images with rock star Mick Jagger and standing next to Epstein himself. Michael Jackson was also implicated in the files, with photos showing the King of Pop alongside Clinton and Epstein, raising questions about the extent of their interactions with the convicted sex offender.

'So Much Information, Yet Not Enough'

Epstein survivor Dani Bensky told NBC News she feels 'validated' by the release but added it wasn't as much information as survivors had hoped for. 'There's so much information, and yet not as much as we may have wanted to see,' Bensky said.

For survivor Maria Farmer and her sister Annie, the partial release marked what CNN called 'a moment of triumph'. Maria had filed one of the first complaints against Epstein in the 1990s. An FBI document released Friday included a 1996 description of a criminal complaint against Epstein related to child pornography.

According to CBS News, judges in both Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's cases had given the government permission to release grand jury transcripts, provided identifying information on victims was redacted. Yet the 119-page document labelled 'Grand Jury-NY' was entirely blacked out, with no explanation provided.

Impeachment Threats and Bipartisan Fury

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who co-authored the Epstein Files Transparency Act alongside Khanna, said on X that Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche have 'grossly' failed to 'comply with both the spirit and letter of the law', according to NBC News.

PBS NewsHour reported that Khanna discussed 'possible impeachment' and 'referrals for criminal prosecution if people aren't complying' with the law. The California congressman said survivors approaching the deadline 'with such anticipation' were ultimately let down by the incomplete release.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers in a letter that the department needed more time to review documents and planned to release more 'on a rolling basis', despite the law's clear 30-day deadline, CBS News reported. He said 187 attorneys reviewed the documents, identifying over 1,200 names of victims and their relatives for redaction.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that the Trump administration's failure to release all documents by Friday would be 'violating the law', according to CBS News. 'The law Congress passed and President Trump signed was clear as can be — the Trump administration had 30 days to release ALL the Epstein files, not just some. Failing to do so is breaking the law,' Schumer said.

As survivors continue to navigate the DOJ's 'Epstein Library' website searching for answers about their own cases, the bipartisan outcry over the redactions signals that the battle for full transparency is far from over.