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By Hugh Cameron
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Representative Lauren Boebert has joined several lawmakers in expressing outrage over what she was able to view in unredacted versions of the Department of Justice’s documents on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Terrifying language in the Epstein Files I viewed yesterday,” the Colorado Republican posted to X on Wednesday. “Emails about torture. Frequent talk of ‘consumption’? A restaurant called ‘The Cannibal.’”
“The women around Epstein were also deeply involved in trafficking children,” she added. “These are sick, sick people.”
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The Justice Department has not indicated that the files support claims of cannibalism or ritualistic abuse by Epstein or his associates. References to “The Cannibal” refer to a real restaurant, according to multiple fact‑checkers.
Newsweek contacted Representative Boebert’s office via email for comment outside of regular hours.
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Why It Matters
Since being compelled to do so in December, the DOJ has released around three million of the roughly six million pages of Epstein-related evidence in its possession. The appearance of high-ranking officials in recent tranches has sparked political crises and investigations in Norway and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, in the U.S., members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet are now facing calls to resign over conflicting accounts of their ties to Epstein, while criticism mounts against the Justice Department and Attorney General Pam Bondi over its handling of the case.
Being named in the files does not indicate criminal wrongdoing. Still, the disclosures have sparked renewed calls for accountability for those who knew about or may have been involved in Epstein's criminal activities and global trafficking network.
What To Know
On Monday, the Department of Justice began permitting members of Congress to examine unredacted versions of the files that have been made public since late-2025.
Lawmakers from both parties did so under tight restrictions at a designated facility in Washington, D.C., and have subsequently reported seeing further details of criminality by Epstein and his global web of connections, while criticizing the DOJ for unnecessary redactions in the original releases.
In a floor speech on Tuesday, Democratic Representative Ro Khanna read out the names of six “wealthy, powerful men” that were redacted in the DOJ’s initial releases. These included Les Wexner, the former CEO of Victoria's Secret, whom the FBI appeared to identify as a co-conspirator.
And Representative Thomas Massie, who alongside Khanna spearheaded the Congressional push to release the files, said he had seen references to potential victims as young as nine, as well as references to a "torture video" sent to Epstein by Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.
“This seems it wasn’t only the trafficking of young girls as the narrative suggests,” Boebert said in an interview with Newsmax. “There are code words that suggest Jeffrey Epstein and his associates could maybe even have been engaging in some sort of ‘consumption.’”
“I saw more emails about torture,” she added. “And these coded conversations still have a very clear topic: that torture was big—it was a big driver for them—and these were sick people doing very, very sick things.”
What People Are Saying
Lauren Boebert, in an interview with Newsmax, said:** “There are many women who are involved in this. You have folks who were working directly for Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and a lot of these women are the ones sending emails saying, ‘here’s one 10 years old, 11 years old, nine years old. And it’s just very disturbing to see the women who are involved in this as well.”
Republican Representative Nancy Mace, in a post to X on Wednesday, said: “After today’s review of the Epstein files at the DOJ, I have a list of names I will be requesting the House Oversight Committee invite to testify and, if necessary, subpoena. I have questions.”
What Happens Next
In a separate interview, Boebert said her review of the files led her to believe that Epstein had a group of “groomers and recruiters” that extended beyond Ghislaine Maxwell, and that these were “primarily women.”
“I want to know why they haven’t been held to account,” she said, adding that there “may be a time” when she takes to the House floor to publicly name the individuals.
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