The U.S. Department of Justice issued thousands of new documents related to the late, controversial businessman Jeffrey Epstein, last Friday, but at least 550 pages of these documents are completely blocked, according to the network "CBS News".
The recently published files included pictures of several prominent figures in Epstein's circle, and pictures from his homes, although the extensive blocking in many of these documents has sparked criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, while the Justice Department defends its handling of these files.
Blocking the files
According to the American network "CBS News", one of these documents, consisting of 3 consecutive documents totaling 255 pages, has each page covered by a black square.
There is also a fourth document consisting of 119 pages titled "Grand Jury - New York" which is also completely blocked.
It is unclear what proceedings resulted from this document, but the document immediately preceding it is a text in which the Attorney General asks a grand jury in 2020 to consider evidence for indicting Epstein's convicted partner, Ghislaine Maxwell.
There are at least 180 pages blocked in files that underwent partial, if not complete, revision in Jeffrey Epstein's files.
In other cases, the revision was less extensive. For example, a 96-page police report on an investigation carried out by Florida concerning Epstein in the mid-2000s, which includes names of victims and many other details, is blocked.
Also, some of the thousands of images published last Friday underwent partial revision, where faces of some individuals were obscured with squares, in the photos that include former U.S. President Bill Clinton, the late pop star Michael Jackson, and other prominent figures, although Clinton and Jackson themselves are clearly visible.