On Friday, the Department of Justice released thousands of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.
This came at the 30-day mark that the law Congress passed almost unanimously required the department to do so. But the files were heavily redacted, which led to criticisms from both parties.
Survivors of Epstein's abuse also criticized the efforts. Inside Washington spoke by phone with Haley Robson about the partial release.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump said he would release files related to Epstein, who died in police custody in 2019 when Trump was first president.
"And so I knew going into this and just how Trump likes to play his little tactics. I knew with all the obstacles we've already rendered and the administration's flip-flop, I already knew that we were not going to see the files as we should be getting them," she said.
Many of the critics of the law said that releasing the files would put victims' identity at risk. But Robson pushed back on this.
"My name has never been redacted, I was never protected, and I met Jeffrey when I was 16," she said. "That's when I encountered him, and it was abused by him, and I was in his orbit for two years."
Robson criticized how names were redacted but other salacious details were released in the files.
"I mean, you're releasing salacious photos of sex toys, but you're redacting information,"she said. "It's exposing us all over again, or exposing the girls that aren't redacted all over again. And it just it makes me feel like you are showcasing the world exactly why we never wanted to come out in the first place."
Robson voted for President Donald Trump, though said she now regrets it.
"This is not the first administration we've tried," she said. "It's just the person in office was the one to, you know, campaign on releasing them."
Robson criticized how names were redacted but other lurid details were released in the files.
"I mean, you're releasing salacious photos of sex toys, but you're redacting information?"she said. "It's exposing us all over again, or exposing the girls that aren't redacted all over again. And it just it makes me feel like you are showcasing the world exactly why we never wanted to come out in the first place."
In addition, Robson said Congress needs to take action.
"We need to find out how we're going to handle that and what consequences are going to fit for that crime, because he is committing a crime now," she said.
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Housekeeping note: As Congress will be out of town during the holidays, so will this newsletter. We'll see you on January 5, 2026.
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