PANews reported on February 15th that, according to Jinshi, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to members of Congress on February 14th, local time, requesting clarification on the redacting of documents in the Jeffrey Epstein case. The letter outlined the types of redacting and provided a detailed list of numerous prominent figures or "politically sensitive individuals" mentioned in the documents, even though they had no direct contact with Epstein or his ex-girlfriend and accomplice Maxwell, but were mentioned in news clippings and other sources.