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A senior Department of Justice (DOJ) official told an undercover journalist there are "thousands and thousands of pages" of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case and that if they are released by the Trump administration "they'll redact every Republican or conservative person."

Joseph Schnitt, currently acting deputy chief at the DOJ's Office of Enforcement Operations made the claim while being secretly recorded on what he believed was a date, with footage posted on X by independent journalist James O'Keefe.

Newsweek contacted the DOJ and Federal Bureau of Prisons for comment on Friday via email and online inquiry form respectively outside of regular office hours.

Why It Matters

In July the DOJ and FBI released a joint statement saying convicted sex offender Epstein had "no incriminating 'client list'" angering a section of Trump's base who believe details of Epstein's activities are being covered up to protect accomplices. In June 2024 Trump had pledged to release the Epstein case files if elected president for a second term.

Authorities say Epstein died by suicide at Metropolitan Correctional Center on August 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex trafficking minors, though some conspiracy theorists believe he was murdered.

The Epstein case has sparked rare criticism of Trump from prominent members of his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.

What To Know

Schnitt was secretly recorded by a reporter working for O'Keefe, founder of Project Veritas, during what he believed to be a data with a woman. According to Schnitt he met the woman, who gave her name as Skylar, on dating app Hinge.During the date Schnitt said he was a 23-year veteran of the DOJ who was about to become "deputy chief of our office for a few months starting next week."

Asked if the Epstein files "do exist" Schnitt replied: "There's files for sure. There's, yeah, thousands and thousands of pages of files."

Schnitt said there was "internal conflict" within the Trump administration over how to handle the files. When asked what Attorney General Pam Bondi wanted to do he replied: "I don't know what Bondi wants. Bondi wants whatever Trump wants. She's just a yes-person."

Schnitt went on to say if further Epstein files are released they will be "heavily redacted and his [Trump's] name won't be in it."

He added: "They'll redact every Republican or conservative person in those files, leave all the liberal, Democratic people in those files and have a very slanted version of it come out where it's 'look at what's going on' without really seeing any of their [Republicans'] bad behavior."

On August 1 it was confirmed Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's close associate who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, had been moved to a new minimum security facility in Texas. This came after she held two meetings with the deputy U.S. attorney general in July regarding what she knew about the Epstein case.

During the recording Schnitt says: "She [Maxwell] got transferred to a minimum security prison, too, recently, which is against BOP [Bureau of Prisons] policy because she's a convicted sex offender and they're not supposed to get minimum security prisons, which is an interesting detail because she's getting a benefit, which means they're [DOJ] offering her something to keep her mouth shut."

Project Veritas acquired a following, particularly on the right, by secretly recording meetings involving progressive groups and vaccine manufacturers.

What People Are Saying

In a statement sent to O'Keefe the DOJ said: "Joseph Schnitt had no role in the Department's internal review of Epstein materials. He has confirmed as much to leadership and we plan to publish his written statement to that effect when we have it. In his own words, the comments Mr. Schnitt made were based on 'what he learned in the media' and he 'has no knowledge of the circumstances surrounding Ms. Maxwell other than what was reported in the news.'"

The DOJ later published a note from Schnitt on X in which he said: "I met a woman named Skylar on Hinge, a dating app, in July 2025, her profile is no longer findable. We had two dates (August 4 and August 16). She claimed to be an au pair in Georgetown. She gave no clues that she was a reporter or recording our dates. Had I a clue, the first date would have ended immediately and there never would have been a second one...

"The comments I made were my own personal comments on what I've learned in the media and not from anything I've done at or learned via work. I have no knowledge of the circumstances surrounding Ms. Maxwell other than what is reported in the news. I also never divulged anything about what I do at work. I recall that she asked if I had any knowledge about Maxwell and I specifically said I only know what's been reported in the media." What Happens Next

Despite insisting he was only commenting on media reports, Schnitt's comments are likely to further increase pressure on the Trump administration regarding what it knows about the Epstein case and whether more information will be released.