In this MS NOW opinion essay, Duncan Levin analyzes Attorney General Pam Bondi’s appearance before the House Judiciary Committee defending the Justice Department’s release of “3 million pages” of Epstein-related materials. Mr. Levin argues that the central issue is not the volume of disclosure, but whether the Department exercised the level of judgment that sensitive, victim-centered disclosures demand—particularly after survivors in the room stated that the release included their real names and, in some instances, nude images without adequate redaction.
Mr. Levin situates the episode within a broader institutional concern: transparency framed as a headline metric can become a substitute for accountability, and defensiveness in response to oversight can erode public trust in justice. In matters involving survivors and lasting harm, the critical measure is restraint and care—because once private trauma becomes public and searchable, it cannot be undone.
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