Overview
- Law enforcement in Poland, Norway, Latvia, the United Kingdom and Germany told reporters this week that mutual legal assistance requests for unredacted Epstein files have not received substantive responses from the U.S. Department of Justice.
- Norwegian prosecutors said the DOJ has not approved their formal request, a shortfall that officials say is hampering corruption probes of three former senior figures linked to Epstein.
- The DOJ has publicly denied refusing to assist and says it produced responsive records under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, while also declining to comment on the status of specific MLAT requests.
- Mutual legal assistance requests are the formal treaties that let foreign investigators obtain U.S. evidence, and officials say the size of the released files and contested redactions make those requests technically complex and slow to process.
- A 2021 DOJ inspector general report found the Office of International Affairs suffered high staff turnover, outdated technology and heavy caseloads, conditions that investigators and lawmakers say could explain delays and that may prolong uncertainty for victims and defendants abroad.