DOJ Botches Redactions, Exposes Alleged $400,000 Hush Money Paid by Epstein Lawyers to Young Models

A faulty redaction in recently released Epstein-related court records exposed an allegation that government attorneys accused Epstein's lawyers of paying more than $400,000 to "young female models and actresses" to cover up his crimes.

“The Justice Department says a handwritten letter released among newly disclosed Jeffrey Epstein records and signed "J”

9News.au

The flaw was discovered by social media users on Reddit and TikTok and verified by news organizations.

ABC

The problem involved copyable black-box redactions that revealed masked text, and at least one document with the exposed wording has been confirmed by reporters.

The error was reported as limited to a small subset of the hundreds of thousands of records the Justice Department posted under the new Epstein-transparency law, but it went viral and renewed scrutiny of how the DOJ handles sensitive redactions.

Reports trace the redaction error to an amended civil racketeering complaint originally posted by the U.S. Virgin Islands attorney general's office (filed in 2020, amended in 2021).

The same suit alleges Epstein's estate, companies and lawyers — including Darren Indyke — fraudulently sought more than $80 million in tax breaks while operating a sex-trafficking ring.

ABC17NEWS

Outlets repeatedly note the problematic filing remains publicly available on the docket.

They say the technical flaw likely stems from how those earlier files were posted before the DOJ consolidated materials under the new transparency directive.

The discovery was spread and amplified on social platforms, where users tested methods to reveal blacked-out text.

“By Marshall Cohen, CNN (CNN) —A botched redaction in the Epstein files revealed that government attorneys once accused his lawyers of paying over $400,000 to “young female models and actresses” to cover up his criminal activities Social media users onRedditandTikToknoticed in recent days that the redacted allegations could be uncovered by simply copying the blacked-out words and pasting them into a new document”

ABC17NEWS

Journalists confirmed at least one instance of the glitch.

Coverage notes the glitch went viral and is set against broader criticism of the Justice Department’s handling of the larger Epstein repository.

Critics say redactions have sometimes failed to protect victims and at other times been overly broad.

The Justice Department maintains that redactions are necessary to protect victim identities and ongoing investigations.

A technical mistake affected transparency and victim privacy, and several outlets linked the glitch to broader concerns about the Department of Justice’s staggered, heavily redacted releases under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Those releases have been criticized as incomplete, uneven and at times confusing, with reports of broken links and files briefly removed and then restored, prompting increased pressure from lawmakers, victims’ advocates and journalists for clearer redaction protocols and faster, better-vetted releases.

Al Jazeera