USA Victims' lawyer: Epstein files excessively redacted
In the view of victim advocate John Scarola, the US Department of Justice has failed to comply with congressional requirements in releasing thousands of documents relating to the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. "This is a partial release. But the main problem is the redactions," Scarola told Der Spiegel. The lawyer represents several victims of the sex offender Epstein.
21.12.2025, 15:24
SDA
"From everything I have seen so far, I am convinced that the documents were redacted to an excessive extent," Scarola told the news magazine. In justifiable cases, redactions are necessary - to protect the privacy of the victims and the presumption of innocence of suspected perpetrators who have not yet been made public. "Nevertheless, the extent of these redactions goes far beyond anything I consider justified," he said.
Lawyer: partial publication increases the suffering of the victims
When asked whether he believed that suspected perpetrators had been protected by the large number of redactions, Scarola answered "yes". From the victims' point of view, this partial publication increased their suffering, he emphasized. They had been promised time and again that the documents would be disclosed in full. But this promise had always been broken.
Scarola believes that public pressure will continue to increase: "The public is not happy with the published material. There will continue to be strong calls for further investigations." Beyond the publication of files, the US Congress must conduct a comprehensive and complete investigation into the corruption in the civil justice system that played a role in the cases of Epstein and his former partner Ghislaine Maxwell.
