Lawyers representing victims of Jeffrey Epstein have asked two federal judges in New York to order the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to immediately remove millions of documents related to the Epstein case from the internet, arguing that their publication without proper redaction of the victims' data has created an extremely serious situation.
In a letter sent Sunday to Judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer — who are overseeing the Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases — attorneys Brittany Henderson and Brad Edwards are asking for “immediate judicial intervention.” They point out that many of the released documents contain the identities of the victims, in direct violation of the court order.
Henderson told CNN that within just 48 hours she had reported thousands of editing failures on behalf of nearly 100 survivors whose lives have been severely shaken by this publication.
In the letter, the lawyers write that the scale and repetition of the errors are so great that they cannot be justified as mere bureaucratic incompetence. According to them, the court had given a clear and simple order: the names of known victims had to be redacted wherever they appeared before publication.
They list specific examples of violations, including:
• a minor victim whose name appeared unredacted 20 times in a single document;
• an email listing 32 minor victims, with only one name redacted and the other 31 remaining visible;
• official FBI forms (“302”) showing the full names and surnames of the victims.
Following the complaints, the DOJ said it has withdrawn the documents that were flagged by the victims and their lawyers and is continuing to review them for other problematic materials. However, according to the lawyers, the damage has already been done.
The letter also includes testimonies from several anonymous victims ("Jane Doe"), who indicate that after the release of the files they received death threats and faced harassment from the media and unknown persons.
One of them says that the exposure of the data has not only re-traumatized her, but also put her and her child in physical danger.
The lawyers point out that the DOJ had a simple procedure to follow: search for every known name in the system and redact it before publication. Had that been done, the damage could have been avoided.
Henderson warns that every second of delay is causing new harm to these women, who are frightened and are seeking real protection from the American state.
