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In this photo illustration, printouts from the Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) are shown on February 13, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
By Logan Schiciano, Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN
(CNN) — The Department of Justice on Saturday sent Congress a list of “politically exposed persons” in the millions of files released related to its probes into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The six-page letter, a copy of which was obtained by CNN, includes the names of many prominent figures who appear in the files, regardless of the context, and does not specify the degree to which the people were linked to or in contact with Epstein. The letter is signed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and addressed to top members on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.
The DOJ was compelled to produce the list by the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed by Congress.
While some of the people on the list have well-documented ties to the convicted sex offender, others, are not known to have ever personally interacted with Epstein. The list includes presidents, cultural icons, business leaders and government officials.
No one on the list, other than Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, have ever been charged in connection with Epstein’s crimes.
The newly released list has drawn the ire of several members of Congress, including Rep. Ro Khanna, a co-author of the law that forced the files’ release. He claimed the DOJ is “purposefully muddying the waters on who was a predator and who was mentioned in an email.”
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, a vocal ally of Epstein survivors, slammed the DOJ in a Saturday night social media post, claiming there are “missing names on the list disclosed this evening.”
As in its previous letters to Congress, the DOJ lists reasons for redacting information in the files that go beyond what the law passed by Congress requires, including documents showing deliberative process, work product and attorney-client communications that would be privileged.
The-CNN-Wire
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