NEW YORK: A US-based transparency advocacy group has launched a temporary exhibition in New York featuring a print-out of all files released by the US Department of Justice related to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, amounting to nearly 3.5 million pages.
The exhibition, titled “The Donald J Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room,” contains 3,437 bound volumes of documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The files have been numbered and arranged on shelves for display.
“The truth is hard to deny when it’s printed and bound for you to see,” states the website of the Institute of Primary Facts, the Washington-based nonprofit organisation behind the project.
People interested in visiting the library, located in Tribeca, can register online to access the exhibit.
However, the general public is not permitted to directly consult the files because the Department of Justice failed to fully redact the names of some victims included in the documents. Exceptions have been made for certain professionals, including journalists and lawyers.
The pop-up exhibition also highlights the long-standing relationship between US President Donald Trump and Epstein, who died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving minors.
Trump and Epstein were reportedly friends for decades before their relationship deteriorated in 2004 over a property dispute. Trump later publicly distanced himself from Epstein and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing despite being mentioned multiple times in the so-called “Epstein Files.”
David Garrett, one of the creators of the project, told AFP that the initiative aims to educate the public about corruption and threats to democracy in the United States through interactive public exhibits and real-world experiences.
Garrett said there needed to be “real public outcry” over the Trump administration’s handling of the document release, amid accusations from critics that justice officials were attempting to conceal Trump’s links to Epstein.
“And what we attempted to do here was to create, or help to create public outcry to have real accountability,” he added.
The exhibition will remain open to the public until May 21.