The Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA), passed overwhelmingly by Congress in November, compelled the Justice Department to release all documents in its possession related to Epstein.

It required the redaction of names or other personal identifying information of Epstein's victims, who numbered more than 1,000, according to the FBI.

But it said no records could be "withheld, delayed, or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary."

Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, was among the Democratic and Republican lawmakers who examined the unredacted Epstein files at a secure Justice Department location on Monday.

"I saw the names of lots of people who were redacted for mysterious or baffling, or inscrutable reasons," Raskin told reporters.

"There are certainly lots of names of other people who were enablers and cooperators with Jeffrey Epstein that were just blanked out for no apparent reason," he said.

Representative Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, said he discovered the names of six men whose identities were redacted from the released documents and who "are likely incriminated by their inclusion in these files."

Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, said, "There's no explanation for why those people were redacted."

They declined to identify themselves, but Massie said one of them "is pretty high up in a foreign government," and Khanna said one of the others "is a pretty prominent individual."

Massie and Khanna also said that many of the redactions in the released files had been made before the documents were received by the Justice Department. Those redactions may have been made earlier by the FBI or prosecutors, they said.

"Our law was very clear," Khanna said. "Unless something was classified, it required it to be unredacted."

U.S. Commerce Secretary admits having lunch with Epstein on private island

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admitted Tuesday that he and his family had lunch with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on the latter's private island in 2012.

"I did have lunch with him, as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation," Lutnick said during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Tuesday. "And we had lunch on the island, that is true, for an hour."

"I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person," he said in his testimony.

Lutnick had previously said he cut off contact with Epstein in 2005. However, the latest Epstein files, released by the U.S. Department of Justice in January, showed that he and Epstein remained in touch years later. The two men also had business dealings as recently as 2014, local media reported.

Lutnick is now under pressure from both Democrats and some Republicans to resign.

French diplomat's name cited, Paris refers matter to judiciary

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed that the name of Fabrice Aidan, a career diplomat with approximately 25 years of service, appeared multiple times in the documents. Aidan is currently seconded to the private sector.

In accordance with Article 40 of France's Code of Criminal Procedure, Barrot referred the matter to prosecutors for further assessment and initiated an internal administrative inquiry.

French media reported that the references include contact information and email exchanges. Authorities emphasized that the presence of a name in the files does not, in itself, constitute proof of wrongdoing, and no formal charges have been announced.

(With input from agencies)