“National Security” Blocks Epstein Files Release
The one word preventing transparency
When Congress votes tomorrow on a bill many think will pry loose the Jeffrey Epstein files, one glaring loophole will prevent full transparency. It’s called national security.
Not national security that has anything to do with the national defense or harm to the nation, but the self-serving kind that protects the system from the people by depriving them of information — in this case about Jeffrey Epstein, his 1,000+ victims according to the government, and any accomplices he had. With 89 percent of Americans in agreement that the Justice Department should release all information about Epstein(!), the message is clear: national security is more important than democracy.
Take a look at Congress’ long-shot attempt to force the release of the government’s records, led by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie. A seemingly innocuous word appears in the resolution: “unclassified.”
It is an official word that in theory only exists when it comes to national security matters; that is, that the release of such information could cause “harm” to the national security. (There is, of course, a small chance that some FBI methods relating to intelligence collection might officially qualify as “classified” because the release might expose certain capabilities of the government, but even there, I’d argue that the public has a right to know.)
And yet somehow the word made its way into the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
It’s the wrong word. The bill, after demanding that “No record shall be withheld, delayed or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary,” goes on to undermine all of that.
The bill says that if the Attorney General “makes a determination that covered information may not be declassified and made available in a manner that protects the national security of the United States, including methods or sources related to national security, the Attorney General shall release an unclassified summary for each of the redacted or withheld classified information.” As in, the Attorney General would get to decide what to release and how to characterize it.
https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/national-security-blocks-epstein