EXCLUSIVE: Secret Epstein Emails Kept Out of DOJ File Dump — Including FBI Info About Ghislaine Maxwell Interview

Watchdog group is accusing the Justice Department of keeping potentially explosive Jeffrey Epstein-related emails out of the government's massive public file release, including FBI communications tied to Ghislaine Maxwell's prison interview, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

According to documents obtained by Radar, Democracy Defenders Fund sent a September 9 letter to Justice Department Inspector General Don Berthiaume after receiving two tranches of FBI records through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The group said the productions totaled roughly 130 pages and included communications involving senior DOJ and FBI officials who handled the Epstein review, including FBI Director Kash Patel, former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, and former Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove.

DDF said it cross-referenced the FBI records against the DOJ's official Epstein Library using the department's own search function.

The group claimed it found "dozens" of documents in the FOIA production that it could not locate in the public Epstein archive. However, DDF acknowledged the enormous size of the database and possible optical character recognition issues meant some records could theoretically exist in the library without appearing in searches.

Among the records flagged was an email from Bongino that DDF said appeared to concern the redaction of Maxwell's proffer interview with then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche while she was incarcerated.

DDF said that email chain "does not appear to be in the Epstein Library."

The watchdog also identified communications between Bove and Bongino concerning information that otherwise appeared in the Epstein release, but said the officials' own correspondence was not publicly released.

DDF further pointed to several emails involving Patel and Bongino that it said may relate to the DOJ and FBI's July 2025 determination that no further Epstein disclosure was warranted and that investigators had not uncovered evidence sufficient to predicate investigations of uncharged third parties.

The group said those communications likewise did not appear in the Epstein Library.

Another email chain involved Patel seeking contact information for two people he met at Trump International Golf Course who were connected to British royal family members with relationships to Epstein, according to DDF.

The group said it was unclear why Patel wanted the information, but claimed the correspondence was also absent from the public EFTA release.

DDF argued the discrepancies raise questions about whether records were improperly withheld or redacted because of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, restrictions specifically addressed by the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

The group told the inspector general the FBI production showed records that fell within the law's disclosure requirements but were not released, and noted the documents offered insight into how top FBI officials supervised the Epstein review.

The allegations come as DOJ's handling of the Epstein files remains under scrutiny over what was released, what was redacted, and what may remain outside public view