Nearly 100 Epstein Victims Beg Judges to Take Documents Offline

Victims say lives have been 'turned upside down' by the DOJ's failure to properly redact their names

Published on Feb. 3, 2026

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Nearly 100 victims of Jeffrey Epstein have written to judges begging them to take down the government website that houses millions of files in the Epstein case, after their names were improperly disclosed. The lawyers representing the victims say the DOJ's failure to properly redact the information has 'turned the lives of nearly 100 individual survivors upside down' and is causing ongoing and irreversible harm.

Why it matters

The release of the unredacted Epstein documents, which was rushed through Congress at the insistence of Democrats, has had devastating consequences for the privacy and wellbeing of Epstein's victims. This case highlights the importance of protecting victim privacy and the risks of prematurely releasing sensitive information without proper safeguards.

The details

The lawyers for the Epstein victims say the DOJ acknowledged that 'various factors, including technical or human error' led to the failure to properly redact the victims' names. One victim, identified as Jane Doe, wrote: 'I have never come forward! I am now being harassed by the media and others. This is devastating to my life. ... Please pull my name down immediately as every minute that these document with my name are up, it causes more harm to me. ... Please, I'm begging you to delete my name!!!'

  • On January 30, 2026, the DOJ released thousands of documents with redaction failures that exposed the names of nearly 100 Epstein victims.
  • On February 1, 2026, Attorney General Pam Bondi acknowledged the DOJ's mistakes and said they had taken down several thousand documents that may have included victim-identifying information.

The players

Donald Trump

The former president who had asked the Justice Department to release all grand jury testimony related to Jeffrey Epstein, but at a slower pace to allow for proper redactions.

Ro Khanna

The Democratic congressman who introduced the Epstein-document discharge petition, HR 4405, which led to the rushed release of the documents without adequate safeguards.

Thomas Massie

The Republican congressman who co-sponsored the Epstein-document discharge petition and has been vocal about getting the documents released, even as he acknowledges that too many are still being withheld or redacted.

Marjorie Taylor Greene

The Republican congresswoman who co-sponsored the Epstein-document discharge petition.

Pam Bondi

The Attorney General who acknowledged the DOJ's mistakes in the Epstein document release and said they had taken down several thousand documents that may have included victim-identifying information.

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What they’re saying

“I have never come forward! I am now being harassed by the media and others. This is devastating to my life. ... Please pull my name down immediately as every minute that these document with my name are up, it causes more harm to me. ... Please, I'm begging you to delete my name!!!”

— Jane Doe, Epstein Victim (ABC News)

“For the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, every hour matters. The harm is ongoing and irreversible.”

— Attorneys for Epstein Victims (ABC News)

What’s next

The judge in the case will hold a hearing on Wednesday to consider shutting down the government website that houses the Epstein documents in order to protect the victims' privacy.

The takeaway

This case highlights the importance of protecting victim privacy and the risks of prematurely releasing sensitive information without proper safeguards. The rushed release of the Epstein documents, driven by political agendas, has had devastating consequences for the lives of nearly 100 victims who are now facing ongoing harassment and harm.