Several documents and ‘media’ may have inadvertently exposed sensitive information of victims, drawing outcry
The justice department said on Monday it had taken down several thousand documents and “media” that may have inadvertently included victim-identifying information since it began releasing the latest batch of documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein on Friday.
It blamed the release of sensitive information that drew an outcry from victims and their lawyers on mistakes that were “technical or human error”.
In a letter to the New York judges overseeing the sex trafficking cases brought against Epstein and confidant Ghislaine Maxwell, Jay Clayton, a US attorney, wrote the department had taken down nearly all materials identified by victims or their lawyers, along with a “substantial number” of documents identified independently by the government.
Clayton, who is based in Manhattan, said the department has “iteratively revised its protocols for addressing flagging documents” after victims and their lawyers requested changes to the process for review and redaction of posted records.
