Trump DOJ's handling of Epstein files 'has created the worst possible outcome': analysis

Amid this week's newest release of files pertaining to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's two federal criminal investigations, one author is arguing that justice for Epstein's victims is being considered an afterthought.

In a Wednesday op-ed for the New York Times, author and MS NOW contributor Molly Jong-Fast lamented that the Department of Justice's (DOJ) releases of documents show that Epstein caused great harm to a significant number of young girls and observed that "we seem no closer to getting justice for the women who were the victims of this vast scheme."

"The release of the Epstein files was not supposed to be this way," Jong-Fast wrote. "The fight was to get them released, and then all would be revealed. Instead, social media is filled with a bewildering number of documents — some real, many not — and photographs with celebrities and without context. The contents have clearly been selectively released by the Department of Justice, a lot of it highly redacted, revealing little but stirring up much."

"The flood of files has created the worst possible outcome, an even more hyperpartisan blame game that is completely unfocused on justice for the victims," she added.

Jong-Fast contrasted the treatment of victims with the administration's treatment of Epstein's associates. She reminded readers that one heavily redacted document appears to show the names of 10 alleged co-conspirators who may have committed crimes with the notorious child predator.

"And the powerful men that Mr. Epstein cavorted with, who in turn seemed to provide him with so much? Why did many of his 10 possible conspirators have their names shielded?" Jong-Fast wrote. "Are they being protected?"

The New York Times contributor wrote that she has continued to be moved by the harrowing stories told by the women who survived Epstein's abuse and exploitation. She further noted that "the files have been released in a way that seems to be designed to maximize the arguing, give succor to conspiracy-mongers and minimize the illumination of what happened."

"Why did at least 16 files disappear soon after the Department of Justice site went live?" She wrote. "The department later reposted disappeared content, including a photo of Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein. And so it goes."

Click here to read Jong-Fast's op-ed in the New York Times (subscription required).