NPR’s Scott Detrow talks with Annie Farmer, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, about what may be in the final release of the Epstein files by the Department of Justice.
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Annie Farmer is one of many people who testified in court about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. She says they sexually abused her when she was 16 years old. And she’s also been a leading voice in calling the Department of Justice to release all records related to Jeffrey Epstein. Now the DOJ has made what may be its final public disclosure of documents in the case, including unredacted pictures of nude women or possibly girls, as well as the names of victims. A DOJ spokesperson told The New York Times the department was addressing victim concerns and making additional redactions. And with all this in mind, we wanted to hear from Annie Farmer again. Welcome back to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
ANNIE FARMER: Thanks for having me.
DETROW: You’ve been vocal about wanting all the documents released. Your sister Maria was one of the first whistleblowers in this case. She made a complaint to the FBI way back in 1996. It’s a complaint that went unacknowledged and uninvestigated for decades. I’m wondering, how does this latest, maybe final, release make you feel?
FARMER: I’m feeling really upset. I, this weekend, as I was sorting through files and people were sending me things, just became aware of how many violations of the law there were in terms of victims’ names coming out, as you mentioned, nude photos of girls or young women. It’s really disgusting.
DETROW: Look, on one hand, there’s pressure to get these documents public, and at the same time, the law made it clear files needed to be fully redacted, and that didn’t happen. The names and images should never have been released. What do you make of that?
FARMER: Honestly, at this point, it’s hard not to wonder if this is intentional in some way. It feels like weaponized incompetence. If you see some of these documents where there will be a list of 50 names and one is redacted, you know, there’s just no explanation for how it could have been done so poorly. They’ve had victims’ names for a very long time. I don’t think this is just about rushing to get this information out. It feels like they want us to give up on transparency, and it’s extremely problematic how they’ve gone about doing this.
DETROW: I mean, the internet is such a weaponized place at this point. Have you had conversations with other people who have been in your position, who have been vocal about this, about what to do at this point, when names and pictures are being circulated?
FARMER: I think a lot of people are feeling a bit at a loss of, you know, how to best proceed because it is beyond what any of us had worried about. But what I do feel clear about is the fact that we still believe transparency is important, and we’re not giving up on demanding that the law be followed.
DETROW: What we’re talking about right now is a huge concern. In the bigger picture in terms of the information released, the new revelations in this trove, what to you was the value of this?