'End the cover up' Rep. James Walkinshaw claims redacted Epstein Files documents protect Trump
Following a recent court order on the redaction of the Epstein Files, Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw has accused the Department of Justice of protecting President Donald Trump from "political embarrassment" at best. In a CNN interview, Walkinshaw claimed he has seen files that allegedly contradict some of Trump’s claims about his relationship with late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and that the Justice Department was trying to shield him.
The heavily redacted Epstein files have been a politically contentious subject since their release, with the Democrats demanding answers to why the documents were redacted and why the Justice Department did not release all of the 6 million documents in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The extensive redactions have sparked speculation with claims of Trump being directly involved. "I’ve seen some of the files the DOJ is hiding. They include records contradicting Trump’s claim that he kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago," Walkinshaw wrote in his post on Facebook, referring to the president's book in which he claimed that he fell out with Epstein at his Mar-a-Lago beach club spa and banned his former friend from the property, as per CNBC.
"Those redactions weren’t about protecting survivors. They were about protecting Trump from embarrassment. End the cover-up," Walkinshaw added, sharing a clip of his interview. Trump has largely denied any deep associations with the disgraced financier and doubled down on his claims, often threatening to sue the media for false allegations. Recently, his legal team refiled its lawsuit over a Wall Street Journal story alleging that Trump sent a “bawdy” letter to Epstein in 2003, after a Florida judge had dismissed the case last month, The Guardian reported.
Meanwhile, last week, a U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered the government to release unredacted versions of certain documents from the files or provide an answer to why they can't be released by Thursday, July 2, according to CBS News. While the Justice Department has released 3.5 million documents, a lawsuit accused Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche of improperly redacting documents. In the suit, the judge ordered the government to release the eight emails, which had either the sender or recipient blacked out, a draft indictment of Epstein where the names of potential co-conspirators were redacted, and a 2019 email that mentions several co-conspirators whose names were redacted. The Judge also ordered the release of the log listing every redaction the Justice Department has made to the files it has published and to either release the interview notes behind several FBI documents summarizing the allegations against Trump, or explain why they can't be released.
On the other hand, the Justice Department said it will appeal the decision, as release of the unredacted documents will be against the law. "This judge is suggesting DOJ violate the law by un-redacting victim names, who, as the Department has always explained, sadly became co-conspirators," a department spokesperson told Axios.
