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Geoff Bennett:

A new NPR investigation reveals the Justice Department withheld portions of the Jeffrey Epstein files that contain allegations involving President Trump, including material tied to claims that Mr. Trump sexually abused a minor and that some pages mentioning him were removed from the public record.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee called that out today, saying that DOJ's withholding of information could amount to a crime.

For more on that and the surrounding fallout, we're joined now by Julie K. Brown, investigative reporter for The Miami Herald whose reporting helped expose much of the Epstein network.

Julie, welcome back to the program. It's great to have you.

Julie K. Brown, The Miami Herald:

Thank you.

Geoff Bennett:

I want to start with this NPR reporting that the Justice Department withheld some Epstein files related to allegations that President Trump sexually abused a minor, which we should say the White House denies. What stands out to you about it?

Julie K. Brown:

Well, I think what stands out is that we don't have the reports, even though we know they exist. This stems from an interview that they conducted that came out of a tip to the FBI about this woman who has said that she -- when she was 13, that she was sexually assaulted by Donald Trump.

Now, her -- one of her interviews is contained in the Epstein files, although it is heavily redacted, so it's hard to know exactly what she told the FBI. But as a result of that, we were able to see some of the report numbers and the Bates stamps on it.

And an independent journalist actually named Roger Sollenberger was the person that found out that -- compared that number to the documents that the Southern District of New York prosecutors gave to Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers as part of her criminal case.

Geoff Bennett:

You broke this story eight years ago with your investigative reporting. With the benefit of time in hindsight, what do you see more clearly now about how power insulated Jeffrey Epstein and how much of that protective structure still exists?

Julie K. Brown:

Well, I think it shows that it absolutely does exist. I mean, the fact that we aren't getting the full picture, that these files are so heavily redacted, that there are names of men in these files that have been redacted, yet some of these victims' names have not been redacted from the files, it goes -- it shows that this case is still an example of how there are two systems of justice in this country, one for people who have money and power and one for people who don't.

Geoff Bennett:

Well what key questions remain unanswered? And where do you think the public and the media might be misunderstanding or oversimplifying what these documents can and can't do?

Julie K. Brown:

Well, I think that, because I have been on this case for so long, I probably look at it a different way. And I look at it from the point of view that the Justice Department has never really done their job on this, that the FBI and the Justice Department never took these victims seriously, that they had a preference, I guess, for letting this case just die.

And it would have died if it wasn't for these victims now who have mobilized and become a force for justice and for change. And it's because of them that we're still talking about this case. And they're still fighting for the truth here. And I don't know how much longer the government's going to be able to sit on these files or cover up who is in them.

Geoff Bennett:

Well, say more about that, because we have seen some private sector fallout in this country, resignations, some reputational fallout, but comparatively little government accountability.

Meantime, overseas, in the U.K., there's been a more direct institutional reckoning. What do you think accounts for that? What explains it?

Julie K. Brown:

Well, I think that right now in our country, we really aren't holding people in authority accountable at all.

I mean, we're seeing it with what's happening with our government, to some degree, with some of the people who work for our government, supposedly working for us, who are making money through their positions in government, instead of using their positions for the public and for a public good.

And I think, if you don't have the kind of government that really wants to work for the people, this is the kind of thing that happens. I can't explain why European or British government feels that they are taking a different approach. But I do think that our government for reasons that I think are evident to most people are covering up this crime.

And it is a crime. It has nothing to do with politics. It has nothing to do with whether someone's a Republican or a Democrat. It was a crime against children and women. And I think, until the public understands that we have to have leaders in our government that are going to fight for women and children, we won't see any accountability in this case.

Geoff Bennett:

A number of those survivors will be at tonight's State of the Union address. For them, this isn't history. This is very much ongoing. How should we be thinking about this moment from their perspective?

Julie K. Brown:

I think we should hold all our elected leaders -- like I said, regardless of their political party, we should hold them accountable for how they are treating these victims.

We know that members of the Trump administration, for example, has never met with these victims and have been characterizing this as a hoax. I think people that actually look at these files know that this is not a hoax, that this is a crime that actually happened. We have to do things differently and not let this happen again.

Geoff Bennett:

Julie K. Brown of The Miami Herald, thanks again for your time.

Julie K. Brown:

Thank you.