Overview
- The Justice Department removed several thousand documents and media from its online portal after Friday’s release, saying some included victim-identifying information because of technical or human error.
- A letter co-signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton says nearly all items flagged by victims have been taken down, protocols were revised, corrected files will return within 24–36 hours, and lawmakers will be allowed to review unredacted materials.
- Attorneys Brittany Henderson and Brad Edwards urged Judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer to intervene, reporting thousands of failures such as a minor’s name appearing 20 times and an email listing 32 underage victims with most names visible, with victims describing threats and retraumatization.
- Media reviews identified further lapses, with The New York Times reporting nearly 40 unredacted nude images and other outlets finding dozens of unredacted victim names, while DOJ officials characterized the errors as affecting only a small fraction of pages.
- The release has already affected other cases, as defense lawyers in an unrelated New York sex-trafficking trial sought a mistrial over references in the files, a request the judge tentatively denied after prosecutors said the documents were withdrawn.