Members of US Congress see the unredacted Epstein files
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This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.
I'm Alex Ritson, and in the early hours of Tuesday 10th February, these are our main stories. Members of the US Congress get to see the unredacted Epstein files held by the US Justice Department. Britain's King Charles says he's ready to support any police investigation into his brother Andrew.
What new developments have emerged regarding the unredacted Epstein files?
Keir Starmer defies some predictions and is still UK Prime Minister, despite calls to step down. also in this podcast.
Clashes in Sydney, Australia, as demonstrators take to the streets to protest against a visit by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog. The fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal continues to reverberate in the United States and beyond. Members of Congress in Washington can now view the millions of documents from the investigation into the sex offender without the extensive redactions made by the Justice Department. According to a letter sent to lawmakers, they're not allowed to take anyone with them. and they can take notes but not make electronic copies. The senior Democrat congressman, Jamie Raskin, viewed some of the unredacted files, and after seeing them, he said that it wasn't necessary to censor so many.
from this Department of Justice satellite office. I think there were four computers in the room that I was in. I was at one of the computers. I believe that there were tons of completely unnecessary redactions in addition to the failure to redact the names of victims, and so that's troubling to us.
I heard more from our North America correspondent, Peter Bowes. As we've just heard there, some members of Congress who've seen these files claim that the Justice Department redacted or withheld names of prominent people in Epstein's circle without any clear justification, suggesting that they weren't solely protected for privacy reasons, that it could be to save them from public embarrassment or worse. The Congressman Thomas Massey, who's a Republican... said what bothered him were the names of at least six men that had been redacted that were likely incriminated, he said, by their inclusion in these files. At the same time, they say that, and we've known this for some time, that some of the victims, the survivors' identities were released in the files, which survivors' advocates have been strongly criticising now for well over a week.
What can we expect next in this long-running investigation into Epstein and his influential connections? Well, potentially there is a lot that could still happen. Representatives, including the congressman that we've just heard from and others, have suggested that they may want to publicly disclose previously redacted names that are likely incriminated. That would be quite a bombshell if that were to happen. If the names of individuals were revealed... There could well be formal hearings in the House Judiciary Committee and continuing in the House Oversight Committee. Lawmakers may want to publicly question whether Department of Justice officials, how they handle these files and why so many redactions remain.
There are so many questions about that. And then, of course, this will be a key event. Bill and Hillary Clinton have agreed to give depositions before the House Oversight Committee, and they have insisted themselves that this be in public, quite possibly televised live. And Peter, there was another development today. Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell appeared before a US congressional panel. Maxwell, of course, serving a 20-year jail sentence for sex trafficking and video of her appearance from prison in Texas has been released. Ms.
Maxwell, did you at any time play any role in Jeffrey Epstein's activities involving the recruitment, grooming or trafficking of young women or girls?
I invoke my Fifth Amendment right to silence.
So, Peter, Ghislaine Maxwell was exercising her right to silence to avoid incriminating herself, but her lawyers did speak at the hearing. What did they say?
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:18
2
What new developments have emerged regarding the unredacted Epstein files?
1:18–10:44
3
What recent protests occurred in Sydney, Australia?
10:44–11:55
4
How are technology companies being held accountable for children's mental health?
11:55–12:12
5
How have members of Congress reacted to viewing the Epstein files?
12:12–17:07
6
What investigations are underway regarding the Winter Olympics medals?
17:07–27:58
7
What implications does Ghislaine Maxwell's potential testimony have?
27:58–30:36
Speakers
8 identifiedMore from Global News Podcast
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