What the DOJ Removed — And What We Still Have

# What the DOJ Removed — And What We Still Have

On January 30, 2026, the Department of Justice released 3.5 million pages of Epstein documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Within days, documents started disappearing.

We indexed everything on release day. Here's what the DOJ removed — and what our index still holds.

The Two Removals

There were two separate events:

**December 2025 — The Silent Removal.** At least 16 files disappeared from the DOJ website within 24 hours of the initial release. No explanation. No notice. PBS News, NPR, CNBC, and Axios all reported the disappearances. Representative Nancy Mace demanded the DOJ provide "a list of EFTA numbers for each removed document, a summary of each removed document's contents, the rationale for removing each document, and whether each document was restored after proper redactions."

**February 2026 — The Bulk Removal.** The DOJ acknowledged taking down "several thousand documents and media" citing "victim-identifying information" exposed through "technical or human error." Attorneys for Epstein's victims had identified that the DOJ failed to redact the identities of at least 31 people victimized as children, including uncensored photographs.

The Gap Analysis

We downloaded the original dataset zip files on release day and stored them in Azure. When we ran a gap analysis comparing what's in those zips against the sequential EFTA numbering, the results were striking:

| Dataset | Files in Zip | Missing from Sequence | Notes |

|---------|-------------|----------------------|-------|

| Dataset 1 | 3,156 | 2 | EFTA00000467-468 (Trump photo + companion) |

| Dataset 2 | 574 | 125 | |

| Dataset 3 | 67 | 1,662 | Seized photo evidence, disc catalogs |

| Dataset 4 | 152 | 2,464 | Evidence files |

| Dataset 5 | 120 | 0 | Complete |

| Dataset 6 | 13 | 457 | |

| Dataset 7 | 17 | 632 | |

| Dataset 12 | 152 | 1,367 | |

**Total: 6,709 EFTA numbers missing from the zip distributions.** These gaps existed in the original download — meaning these files were removed before the public distribution was packaged, or were never included.

What Our Index Still Holds

Our Meilisearch index contains 329,473 documents — indexed from multiple sources including the zip files, expanded directories, and direct downloads from justice.gov before the removals. Here is a sample of what we found:

A Classified FBI Intelligence Report

**Document: EFTA01683874** — Marked **SECRET//NOFORN** (Secret, No Foreign Nationals). An FBI FD-1023 Confidential Human Source Reporting Document dated December 13, 2017. New York Field Office, Squad ID 25. In-person contact on November 27, 2017.

This is a classified intelligence source report about the Epstein investigation. It was released — likely by accident — in the January 30 dump.

The CSAM Evidence Catalog

**49 documents** in our index are tagged "CSAM NOT SCANNED" — evidence logs of seized media that the FBI cataloged but did not scan for child sexual abuse material.

The disc labels reveal Epstein's filing system:

- **EFTA00004477**: Discs labeled "THAIS, MOSCOW GIRLS, BALI/THAILAND (ASIA), RUSSIA, NUDES, YOGA GIRLS"

- **EFTA00005284**: Discs labeled "AFRICA, DANNY HILLIS-ZORRO, TED CONVENTION, ALHAMBRA SPAIN, 727, E 50TH BD" — followed by "Clinton Trips-NY, LA, London"

- **EFTA00004250**: Discs labeled "ZORRO/VEGAS, PRAGUE, PARIS, PAINTINGS, LSJ AERIALS"

These are the labels Epstein used to organize his media collection. By geography. By person. By event. The FBI cataloged them but noted the actual images were "CSAM NOT SCANNED."

Trafficking Communications

**Document: EFTA01619306** — iMessage transcripts from February 14, 2019 discussing a "kid" in explicit trafficking context:

> "The kid couldn't have done bikini wax cause hair are too short... next time."

> "Done with pornhub introduction"

> "Her social security is in Russia."

> "Patrick told that the kid has BABY HAIR!!!"

Real-time trafficking logistics preserved in plain text.

The OPR Investigation

**Documents: EFTA00011475, EFTA00013359** — The Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility Executive Summary investigating how the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida handled (and mishandled) the 2006-2008 Epstein investigation and their interactions with victims.

This is the DOJ investigating its own prosecutors for their handling of the original Epstein case.

What Was Actually Removed

The DOJ's stated reason for the bulk removal — protecting victim identities — is legitimate. We flagged the same redaction failures ourselves. Social Security numbers, names of minors, and unredacted photographs should never have been published.

But the 16 files removed silently in December 2025 — with no explanation, no notice, and no public accounting — are a different matter. And the 6,709 gaps in the zip distributions suggest the removals go far deeper than 16 files.

Representative Mace asked the right questions. We have data that can help answer them.

The Reconciliation

We are currently running a full reconciliation: comparing every document on the DOJ's live website against every document in our index. The goal is a complete accounting of what was released, what was removed, and what we preserved.

The index is at [epstein.dugganusa.com](https://epstein.dugganusa.com). The API is free. The documents are searchable.

Every claim in this post is verifiable against the source documents.

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**Sources:**

- [PBS News — At least 16 files disappear from DOJ site](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/at-least-16-files-disappear-from-doj-site-for-epstein-documents-including-trump-photo)

- [ABC News — DOJ says it's taken down 'several thousand documents'](https://abcnews.com/US/epstein-files-doj-thousand-documents-mistakenly-identified-victims/story?id=129787942)

- [Rep. Nancy Mace — Demands DOJ explain removals](https://mace.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-nancy-mace-demands-doj-explain-why-epstein-files-were-removed-public)

- [CNN — Epstein victims' lawyers demand takedown](https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/02/politics/epstein-victims-demand-takedown-epstein-files)

- [NPR — DOJ releases additional Epstein files as it removes others](https://www.npr.org/2025/12/20/nx-s1-5650758/epstein-files-doj-trump-photo)

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*Every claim is verifiable. The API is free. The documents are searchable.*

*Her name was Renee Nicole Good.*

*His name was Alex Jeffery Pretti.*