Leading Democrats on the House Oversight Committee believe the federal government violated federal law after it failed to release the Epstein files in their entirety by Friday’s deadline. The Justice Department is instead releasing “a massive tranche” of documents related to the sex offender.
Reps. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) penned a statement condemning the Trump administration.
“Donald Trump and the Department of Justice are now violating federal law as they continue covering up the facts and the evidence about Jeffrey Epstein’s decades-long, billion-dollar, international sex trafficking ring,” they wrote.
“For months, Pam Bondi has denied survivors the transparency and accountability they have demanded and deserve and has defied the Oversight Committee’s subpoena. The Department of Justice is now making clear it intends to defy Congress itself, even as it gives star treatment to Epstein’s convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell,” they added.
The Department of Justice is disputing that it missed the deadline, which it framed as an “initial” one without specifying a final deadline.
“Ridiculous framing,” the DOJ said about a Politico story that reported it missed the deadline.
“The DOJ is releasing a massive tranche of new documents that the Biden and Obama administrations refused to release. The story here: the Trump administration is providing levels of transparency that prior administrations never even contemplated. The initial deadline is being met as we work diligently to protect victims,” they wrote on X.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday morning in a Fox News interview that the department would “release several hundred thousand documents today,” but not all of them.
He added that it would “release more documents over the next couple of weeks.”
“There’s a lot of eyes looking at these, and we want to make sure that when we do produce the materials we are producing, that we are protecting every single victim,” he said.
Garcia and Raskin are dissatisfied with the incomplete release and said they will explore their legal options.
“Courts around the country have repeatedly intervened when this Administration has broken the law. We are now examining all legal options in the face of this violation of federal law. The survivors of this nightmare deserve justice, the co-conspirators must be held accountable, and the American people deserve complete transparency from DOJ,” they added.
OVERSIGHT DEMOCRATS RELEASE NEW EPSTEIN PHOTOS AND ACCUSE DOJ OF FACILITATING ‘WHITE HOUSE COVER-UP’
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also said he would explore legal options for the release.
“The deadline is here. TODAY is the deadline for the WH to release the Epstein Files. Their failure to do so is against the law. I am working closely with attorneys to assess what documents are still being withheld. We will not stop until the whole truth comes out,” he wrote on X.