The Loophole That Could Keep the Epstein Files Hidden
Question Everything
Brian Reed
4.6 • 707 Ratings
🗓️ 11 December 2025
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
By December 19th, the Department of Justice is supposed to release all DOJ and FBI files related to Jeffrey Epstein. But through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, Bloomberg investigative reporter Jason Leopold has uncovered evidence of a secretive operation on the Epstein files that the FBI called the “Special Redaction Project.” That doesn’t necessarily inspire confidence about how much information will become public, does it?
Jason found that nearly 1,000 FBI agents were trained to review and redact the files, which included thousands of pages of documents, interview summaries, surveillance footage, search warrant photos, and more than 8 terabytes of digital evidence. The Department of Justice can withhold anything it claims is tied to an ongoing investigation – a huge loophole that could keep many of these records from the public.
But all hope is not lost. Jason also reported on a nearly decade-old FOIA lawsuit from a defunct magazine that could ultimately force the government to release more of the Epstein records.
This week, we’re airing an episode of Disclosure, where investigative reporter Jason Leopold and First Amendment attorney Matt Topic walk us through what we can expect when the deadline to release the Epstein files hits next week.
Check out more episodes from the premiere season of Disclosure.
Question Everything is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter.
- Jason Leopold, Disclosure co-host and Bloomberg News investigative reporter
- Matt Topic, Disclosure co-host and First Amendment attorney
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Growing up, I loved Advent calendars, counting down to Christmas Day. |
| 0:10.8 | Behind each door, a delicate piece of chocolate. |
| 0:13.7 | But the date I'm counting down to this season isn't December 25th. |
| 0:18.0 | It's December 19th, next Friday. |
| 0:23.4 | And behind that door is a treasure trove of public records, the Epstein Files. The Justice Department is now mandated to put the files out |
| 0:30.8 | by next Friday because of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Congress passed this law |
| 0:36.3 | nearly unanimously, and President Trump signed it |
| 0:38.9 | just a couple weeks ago. I'll speak for myself here, but I'm guessing I'm not alone. I have a bad |
| 0:45.2 | feeling that we will not get the full transparency, this act promises. I'm worried that the |
| 0:50.5 | Justice Department may come up with justifications to ignore the deadline, or they may release material that's already been out there through court cases, |
| 0:58.1 | or they'll release stuff that's heavily redacted. |
| 1:00.8 | Lots of key information blacked out. |
| 1:03.5 | After all, Donald Trump has had the power since he took office to release the Epstein files. |
| 1:08.6 | He didn't need Congress to pass a law to do that. |
| 1:11.2 | We know he's in the files, as are many other powerful people. |
| 1:15.1 | I became especially worried about the administration pulling some hanky-panky here |
| 1:18.4 | after I learned about a, quote, special redaction project. |
| 1:22.4 | That's what it was called internally, |
| 1:24.2 | that the FBI ran all the way back in the spring, |
| 1:26.7 | with hundreds of agents working |
| 1:28.5 | round the clock to go through and do God knows what to the Epstein files. |
| 1:33.4 | Today on our show, we hear the reporter who discovered that redaction operation by shrewdly |
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