Trump’s FBI Spent Nearly $1 Million on Redacting Epstein Files | A new report reveals the FBI’s frantic “special redaction project” when they thought the Epstein files would be released.

https://newrepublic.com/post/203762/trump-fbi-redacted-epstein-files

47 comments

  1. Then the eventual “release” of the Epstein files cannot be trusted fully. It’s all about constructing narratives with these politicians. No wonder people no longer respect them.

  2. That sounds like the behavior of innocent people.

  3. And this is not criminality, why? I wish they are all rounded up and locked away for life

  6. {redacted} orange tan left stain on {redacted} after New York City Mogul {redacted} paid to be {redacted} with {redacted} in {redacted}. {redacted} mentioned he was kind of in a hurry because he was taping his reality T.V. show, the {redacted} later that day.

  7. In the words of another infamous fascist, you have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide.

    In this case, however, it will be worse for Trump to redact – everyone will simply read “Trump” for every redaction.

    And if they’re not redacting other names, they will undermine the basis for redacting anything in the first place, and some court will order everything produced un-redacted.

  8. I don’t understand what they expect to achieve from redacting the files that they have.

    There are god knows how many lawyers, judges, law enforcement, plus the Epstein Estate, and a whole host of individuals including victims oof abuse who are clearly not pro-Trump who have seen documents that more than likely incriminate him, and there are obviously copies out there secured as part of legal proceedings.

    They release redacted files, and peoople are just going to call them on it, and it’s going to make them look even more stupid than they already do.

  9. I’m fully confident that they will somehow still manage to screw it up.

  11. If you’re a FBI agent and you are working overtime to cover up a pedophile then you are just as a big of a piece of shit as the pedophile.

    Not one single FBI guy can’t come out and be like yea this isnt right?

  12. Americans would be much more likely to believe that Trump’s latest reversal is genuine if his administration, alongside the DOJ and Republicans in Congress weren’t making every kind of effort over the last several months to run interference for Trump, delay votes, withhold information and divert attention away from this scandal and the president’s deep ties to the world’s most notorious child sex trafficker.

    After months of trying desperately to bury this scandal, Trump is now publicly reversing his stance because his DOJ has made sure to comb through and selectively omit every document, every word, every piece of evidence that could implicate him and anyone he’s trying to protect.

    if you think Trump and his DOJ will approve the release of anything remotely transparent, then I have some Trump meme coin to sell you.

    It’s already been reported that the FBI was tasked with digging through thousands of pages of Epstein related materials to search for any mention of Trump. The implications are obvious. What other intention could the Trump administration possibly have for instructing the FBI to basically ctrl-F Trump’s name for redaction or some other nefarious purpose?

    It’s also telling that it took ten months for Republicans to unanimously vote in favor of releasing whatever information the DOJ finds adequate enough to placate the base. And only after their ringleader gave them the okay. Prior to that, the goal was to obstruct and distract at any cost, and at the insistent behest of Trump of course.

    This distraction effort included political stunts and diversions like when the DOJ tried to manufacture “treasonous” charges against Obama while justice department officials were privately courting Ghislaine Maxwell at the same time.

    Republicans—predominantly Mike Johnson—even used the government shutdown as an excuse to suppress and delay the disclosure of Epstein related documents.

    Johnson deliberately delayed swearing in congresswoman Grijalva in order to prevent her from being the yes needed on a discharge petition that would force a vote on the further release of Epstein material.

    And in response to Democrats releasing emails obtained by the Epstein estate recently, Trump ordered Republicans to not authorize any additional disclosures. Mere days had passed when Trump completely changed his tune. How does this *not* arouse suspicions?

    And bear in mind that Trump always had the authority to order the release of these documents, but instead chose to pass that responsibility onto others. It speaks volumes that this is one of the few times that Trump didn’t exercise his unilateral powers.

    Trump even sued the WSJ for releasing the infamous birthday letter:

    > The letter concludes: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

    How can any sensible person believe that Trump’s about-face reflects a desire for full disclosure or even sympathy for the victims?

    And the answer to this rhetorical question should be made more evident by the fact that the Trump administration has spent the better part of his term dismantling independent oversight, obfuscating facts and data and putting up barriers to transparency.

    Not accounting for Trump’s own desperate efforts to sweep this scandal under the rug since it was first revealed that his administration had no intention of releasing the “Epstein files.”

    Or his constant politicizing of the “files” and his insistence that the whole thing is just another “democratic hoax.”

    Trump has also contradicted himself on this matter repeatedly. First there were binders full of files, then there weren’t, but Republicans were also releasing carefully selected documents of their own, much of which was previously made public.

    Then his administration signaled that the investigation was basically over, but his deputy AG and personal lawyer went to Florida to interview Ghislaine Maxwell in private under the guise of learning more about Epstein’s crimes, but it was really just an effort to orchestrate a cover up with Maxwell in exchange for clemency and a transfer to a cushy, low security, white collar prison nicknamed “club fed.”

    Reports came out revealing that Trump’s name appeared in the documents, but Trump continued insisting that it was all a “hoax” while at the same time urging investigations into Democrats who are included in the documents that supposedly never existed in the first place.

    Fox News even deliberately edited Trump’s response during an interview when he was asked if he would release the “Epstein client list.”

    > “Yeah, I think we should release it. People deserve to know.”

    Fox left out his follow up:

    > “But you have to understand, there’s a lot of lies in that list. A lot of names that shouldn’t be there. You don’t want to ruin innocent lives.”

    And now you expect me to believe that Trump’s sudden reversal and the GOP’s conveniently timed change of heart are even remotely sincere? Give me a break.

    I also want to address a common whataboutism from Trump supporters who demand to know why “Biden/Democrats didn’t release the files,” which is almost always asked in bad faith as part of a not-so-subtle attempt to try to exonerate Trump of wrongdoing.

    First, the current controversy doesn’t revolve around past inaction, but around Trump’s efforts to stall and block the release of Epstein materials. It’s also centered around his flagrantly corrupt behavior throughout this whole fiasco; his consolidation of legal and prosecutorial powers under a DOJ that is now beholden to him; his administration’s utter lack of transparency; and Trump’s inconsistencies in the face of political pressures. In other words, ***stop deflecting*** Trump supporters.

    That said, and contrary to what conservatives claim, Democrats did call for transparency and pushed for the release of Epstein related records as early as 2019, and even continued pressing for information through Biden’s term.

    Democrats even requested hearings and pressured the DOJ for accountability, despite facing legal and bureaucratic obstacles.

    Moreover, Democrats did not have unilateral authority over the release of the “Epstein files” during Biden’s presidency.

    Documents related to the investigation were held under the authority of the Department of Justice, and a DOJ that was not stripped of its independence and undemocratically faithful to the president like it is now.

    Ongoing investigations, privacy concerns and strict legal constraints prevented their release and/or slowed the process. At the time, president Biden couldn’t just publicly disclose sensitive materials and case files without obstructing investigations and violating statutes.

    It’s also important to note that Epstein was not at the center of the cultural and political conversation during Biden’s campaign. Not like it was for Trump in the run up to the 2024 election.

    Epstein’s arrest and death had just occurred while Trump was president in 2019, but in 2020, and in case you need a reminder, the country was undergoing an economic and global health crisis, which was only made worse by Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic and his kleptocratic policies that ballooned the debt and deficit. Not to mention January 6th and a national discussion about political violence and extremism that followed. Priorities were focused elsewhere to say the least.

  13. …and guess what? All the “Lefties” and Democrats will be left unredacted, and then MAGA will completely ignore the black marks and say *”SeE? TrUmP iSn’T tHeRe!!”*

  14. Let that sink-in, the US gov is spending tax money to protect pedophiles…This is why the current gov is so hostile towards people. *False Consciousness much?*

  15. But… there are copies or originals, or backups of the files somewhere else, right? Just because the FBI redacted all mention of Trump in the FBI copies of the files, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t original unedited copies available the files in the possession of a safe third party?

  17. Wasted effort. Everyone already knows each redacted name is “Donald Trump”

  18. It’s all going to be redacted because they will say foreigns could use it for blackmail.

    Fuck blackmail at that point, everyone can know when we bleed their bank accounts and put them behind bars.

  19. Last I checked, that’s destruction of evidence and obstruction of justice.

  20. That’s clearly obstruction of justice, even under these unusual circumstances (SCOTUS exempting POTUS from prosecution). It’s not their call.

  21. With how many people that have had access to the files for the cover-up, the odds that the original list hasn’t been backed up by at least one of them is highly unlikely. Those in the administration who would be trusted with this work also know that they’re one Trump bad mood or need for a scapegoat away from being fired and/or ostracized. Having the list gives them a layer of protection or retribution depending on their reason for leaving.

    There’s a reason why mass cover-ups and conspiracies are near impossible. You can’t control/silence the required number of people involved to make it work forever.

  23. Hiding the pedophiles. Arrest them now. No statute on child rape

  24. There are people alive with first hand knowledge and bank records that the government doesn’t control. They can try and fake it, but they will get rolled on

  25. I wonder how that stooge Patel feels knowing he did all that to protect a guy who is looking to get rid of him and a political cult that hates him for not being white. What a joke.

  26. You join the FBI to serve your country, first they make you sign an NDA agreement with harsh penalties, then they say you and a few others will be reviewing these 50,000 pages of documents, removing Donald Trump’s name everywhere that it’s seen. 😕

  27. We can assume every redaction is trump. Every redaction is one of his victims.

  28. So… they spent $1M putting black highlighter over Trump’s name.

    Thanks for showing everyone where to look.

  29. So Trump is on the list and spent $1 million of tax payers money to keep his name redacted

  30. Redacting is all about hiding stuff. How much for the stuff they added to implicate others?

  31. The FBI is spending our tax dollars to protect rich men who raped girls. The name most commonly removed was our President.

  32. A million dollars to cover for a child rapist. That could have gone to kids with cancer. I want to throw up right now but can’t since I’m at a grocery store. A million fucking dollars. I’m speechless…not that I don’t see how low the bar is and that they have no low they won’t steep to. I can’t fucking even with these degenerate criminal rapists and their flock of fuckwits. Pigs.

  33. They take taxpayer money to pay people to lie to the taxpayers. Something feels off here…

  35. Protecting pedophiles and the ultra wealthy. Why are maga too blind to see this?

  36. We need to keep a list of the redactors as well.

    If pages are missing, the whole lot goes to trial.

  38. And all it takes is one staffer with a chip on their shoulder and nothing to lose to make it entirely for naught

  39. Why does it cost a million dollars to redact legal files? I always see these amazing costs associated with mundane shit.

  41. Lol, america. They do this shit right in front of your face, and all your moaning and wringing of hands means nothing.

  43. I really hope someone made a bootleg copy of those pages.

  44. I wonder if they understand it’s not a very good cover-up when you keep the records of it.

  45. Kash Patel is a criminal involved in a coverup for Donald J Trump

  47. This is a poor use of public funds. The perpetrators of the alleged crimes should be charged for those crimes, not protected.

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