(WASHINGTON) — The FBI is working with the Department of Justice to see if there is “anything more” from the Jeffery Epstein files that can be released to the public, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.
Patel told journalist Catherine Herridge there are “protective orders and orders to seal in place that legally prohibit the disclosure of information related to any investigation when there’s a court order of that fashion,” when asked about whether the DOJ would meet the Dec. 19 30-day deadline to disclose materials, mandated in the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Attorney General Pam Bondi told ABC’s chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas last week that there was new information that came to light in the files, but declined to say what that new information was. She said that the Justice Department “will continue to follow the law” regarding what is released.
Patel was also asked about the president’s recent call for the DOJ to investigate Jeffery Epstein’s relationship with Democrats, and whether that would limit their investigation to only Democrats.
“We’ll just follow the facts,” Patel responded. “It’s pretty simple for this FBI.”
Bondi ordered U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York to investigate Democrats’ relationship with Epstein after President Trump essentially told her to do so.
“Based on the new referral, we’ll take a look at that and see what evidence comes but there’s an important distinction, the information that the government possesses versus the information that the Epstein estate possesses,” Patel said. “Those are two separate boxes of information, and the Epstein estate has not been willing to share information with the U.S. government, and so even though we’ve requested them to do so.”
Regarding how many of the Epstein files would be redacted and to what degree, Patel said the FBI “always” commits to as few redactions as possible “while also upholding always victim’s rights.
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