The U.S. Department of Justice moved quickly to remove thousands of Jeffrey Epstein files shortly after releasing three million new documents last Friday, following immediate complaints from survivors that sensitive information had been exposed. Lawyers representing Epstein’s victims said the published records included the names and other identifying details of dozens of women who had accused him of sexual abuse, trafficking, and other crimes.

In a letter to two federal judges, attorneys Brittany Henderson and Brad Edwards described the release as “perhaps the single most egregious violation of victim privacy in one day in United States history.” They argued that there was no plausible excuse for the repeated failures, noting that the Justice Department’s mandate to redact known victim names before publication was straightforward and should have been followed.

Despite assurances from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. attorney Jay Clayton that the department had prioritized protecting victim privacy, the release included nude images of young women, some possibly underage, along with personal information such as names and birth dates. The Justice Department claimed that over 500 lawyers and reviewers had manually examined the files, and that electronic searches were conducted to identify victims, yet these safeguards failed in multiple cases. Among the documents removed was a 2007 FBI transcript from Operation Leap Year, detailing one underage victim’s interactions with Epstein, including explicit sexual abuse and gifts, alongside identifiable information such as her first name, last initial, birthdate, and school.

Other documents contained unverified and sensational claims involving high-profile figures, including former President Donald Trump and Bill Clinton. The department acknowledged that some allegations were submitted to the FBI before the 2020 election but had not been confirmed.

Survivors and their lawyers have petitioned judges to remove their personal information, highlighting the real-world consequences of the leak. Jane Doe 5, for example, said she had never come forward previously but found herself being harassed after the release. The files also exposed unrelated individuals, including a Manhattan jail guard and a young woman connected to Epstein’s social circle, whose emails were left unredacted.

A Justice Department spokesperson acknowledged that about 0.1% of the pages contained unredacted victim information, meaning more than 3,000 pages had to be taken offline. Efforts are underway to properly redact and republish these materials, though critics described the mistakes as unacceptable. California Governor Gavin Newsom called the errors “botched redactions” and questioned what the department might be hiding. Survivors collectively denounced the exposure of their identities, stressing that they should never be the ones publicly scrutinized while Epstein’s associates remain shielded.

Lawyers emphasized that the breaches were fully preventable, noting that a simple search for victim names could have ensured proper redactions before publication. They warned that accountability for both the perpetrators and those who failed to safeguard survivors’ information remains a pressing concern.