(Ken Silva, Headline USA) FBI agents reportedly worked around the clock in March to redact information for impending publication of what’s popularly known as the “Epstein files”—the trove of bureau documents related to deceased sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein and his criminal activities.
“FBI agents are working around the clock—some in 12-hour overnight shifts—on a frenzied mission this week,” CNN reported at the time.
“For hours, agents sit at banks of computers, using editing software to identify redactions required under federal laws, including the Privacy Act. The material also includes video.”
Those agents were apparently paid well for their work. According to Bloomberg, they received $851,344 in overtime for working on the Epstein files between March 17 and March 22.
Eight months later, the FBI still hasn’t released its files on Epstein, which should span from the 1990s or 2000s all the way until when he was found dead in a prison cell in August 2019. Most of the recent Epstein revelations—including his “birthday book,” a ledger indicating he paid women or girls to massage Prince Andrew, and emails showing his Israeli intelligence links—have come from his private estate or hacked emails, and not the government.
Some of the files may never see the light of day. President Donald Trump signed a bill to release the files last week, but that legislation reportedly allows some records “to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy.”
Meanwhile, the FBI has police officers guarding the complex where the files are being held—likely in electronic form. According to Bloomberg, the FBI police were sent to the Central Records Complex in Winchester, Virginia, in response to online chatter about citizens possibly getting ambitious and burgling them.
Bloomberg reported earlier this month that users on the social media site Reddit had called for a protest outside of the complex, according to Bloomberg. Another commenter reportedly suggested a break-in instead of a protest.
“At what point do we go from protesting to the next logical progression?” the user said, according to Bloomberg.
“The bureau interpreted the comments as potentially threatening and took action. The FBI sent its uniformed police officers to the Central Records Complex to guard the facility,” Bloomberg reported, citing two anonymous sources. “The officers, who normally patrol the FBI’s headquarters in Washington, were also assigned to protect top officials and staff at the Virginia facility.”
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
