One reason they were holding up the release
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I need a shower after reading that.
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I just read on Reddit that someone has figured out how to recreate the redacted parts. Items redacted by previous administrations cannot be recreated, but more recent redactions can be reversed.
It’s Reddit, so not necessarily reliable info, but if it’s true things could get real interesting.
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Here's how the DOJ releases the Epstein files and how others are making them easier to read
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/23/epstien-files-read-search-doj-library-apps
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The DOJ says the FBI says the letter is a fake.
There was a request from the FBI in 2020 to have a handwriting expert look at the letter to see if it was really Epstein's writing. The result of that 2020 analysis is MIA so far. But the 2025 FBI knows it's a fake.
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Of course they do.
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I just read on Reddit that someone has figured out how to recreate the redacted parts. Items redacted by previous administrations cannot be recreated, but more recent redactions can be reversed.
It’s Reddit, so not necessarily reliable info, but if it’s true things could get real interesting.
@Steve-Miller said in One reason they were holding up the release:
I just read on Reddit that someone has figured out how to recreate the redacted parts. Items redacted by previous administrations cannot be recreated, but more recent redactions can be reversed.
It’s Reddit, so not necessarily reliable info, but if it’s true things could get real interesting.
One wonders if whoever did the redacting knew full well that a simple command or two could reveal the covered, but not missing, text. It's not rocket science to do redaction. Just putting black over the text with a few keystrokes doesn't do the job.
Alternatively, they're just truly incompetent.
Crazy economist who likes to write about higher education.
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Looking for volunteers.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/23/politics/justice-department-redactions-review-epstein-files
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@Steve-Miller said in One reason they were holding up the release:
I just read on Reddit that someone has figured out how to recreate the redacted parts. Items redacted by previous administrations cannot be recreated, but more recent redactions can be reversed.
It’s Reddit, so not necessarily reliable info, but if it’s true things could get real interesting.
One wonders if whoever did the redacting knew full well that a simple command or two could reveal the covered, but not missing, text. It's not rocket science to do redaction. Just putting black over the text with a few keystrokes doesn't do the job.
Alternatively, they're just truly incompetent.
@Piano-Dad said in One reason they were holding up the release:
Alternatively, they're just truly incompetent.
I cast my vote for that option.
Details on the "how to":
Epstein Files Hacked And Posted To X
“Trump’s DOJ is so incompetent that they don’t even know how to properly redact PDFs,” Brian Krassenstein, political commentator and journalist, tweeted the day the agency released the files. You might be inclined to write this off immediately, given that Krassenstein is known for his anti-Trump stance. In this case, however, that would be a mistake. As well as providing the evidence in a series of tweets that showed the highly redacted documents as well as the unredacted versions, Krassenstein went on to explain precisely how the Epstein files could be hacked.
While it is common to read about hackers using PDFs in attacks, the portable document format is susceptible to attack itself. The shocking truth is that it was ridiculously easy, employing straightforward methods that have been known for years. That the DOJ was seemingly unaware of the PDF bugs that have been exploited to do this is concerning from a national security viewpoint at the very least. I am surprised, given that the DOJ has shown technical competence in operations with the FBI in the past, such as remotely deleting files from thousands of U.S.-based computers.
I have reached out to the DOJ for a statement, but in the meantime, here’s how the hack went down.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2025/12/24/epstein-files-hacked---all-you-need-to-know/
