Nancy Mace claims some of the names in the Epstein files being kept secret by the Department of Justice are “shocking,” describing the redactions as “one of the greatest cover ups in American history.”
“You would be shocked [at] some of the names that I have seen that came across in emails that the DOJ is protecting,” the South Carolina Congresswoman told U.K. talk show host Piers Morgan Wednesday.
“We’re talking about people on both sides of the aisle. We’re talking about famous people, rich people… prime ministers, former prime ministers, former presidents, media personalities that are named in these files.
“That’s why I say this is going to go down as… one of the greatest cover ups in American history.”
It comes after the release of over three million files, including 180,000 images and 2,000 videos, by the DOJ last month, which prompted outrage over the significant redactions. As a result the department announced that members of Congress would be allowed to view the fully unredacted files in-person.
Mace told CNN Wednesday that she had been to see the unredacted files already and was planning a second visit, describing the set up to view the documents as “insulting” and adding that “some of the documents you can’t even find within the system.”
The South Carolina Rep. was one of the Republicans who forced a House vote on legislation on the full release of the Epstein files by the DOJ and has repeatedly criticized the department and its leadership for not targeting alleged co-conspirators of the late convicted sex offender more aggressively.
“I personally have lost all faith in our Justice Department. It’s a system of injustice,” Mace told CNN Wednesday. “There is evidence, there are co-conspirators, you can’t have thousands of victims and have no other accomplices other than one.”
She added: “There is no effort, not at all, to prosecute predators in the Epstein cases. And it is devastating, but it is important that we get that list out of potential co-conspirators.”
The massive redactions have garnered criticism on both sides of the political aisle, with lawmakers from both parties having reviewed the unredacted files since they became available.
Democratic Congressmen Jamie Raskin and Ro Khanna and Republican Thomas Massie visited the DOJ on Monday to review the remaining files withheld from publication due to their sensitivity via a secure terminal.
One of Epstein’s victims was just nine years old, according to Raskin, while Massie said that files he had viewed suggested that a senior official in a foreign government was allegedly involved in his sex trafficking network.
Attorney General Pam Bondi faced a grilling from the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday which descended into a shouting match with Democrats. Bondi shouted insults at several of her questioners and provided an impassioned defense of President Donald Trump’s legacy.