Democrats want answers from DOJ about missing Trump Epstein files : NPR

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee is asking the Justice Department for answers after NPR’s investigation revealed Epstein files related to President Trump are missing from the public record.

In a letter first shared with NPR, ranking member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., is asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to explain why what appear to be dozens of pages of interviews and interview notes related to allegations of sexual abuse against President Trump were not among three million pages released in recent months.

“We are witnessing a White House cover-up of serious allegations against the president by a survivor,” Garcia said in a statement to NPR. “We demand Attorney General Pam Bondi come clean about why these documents are being hidden, comply with our legally binding subpoena by sharing all records, and tell the American people if their president is under investigation for allegations of sexual assault.”

NPR’s previous reporting found internal FBI and Justice Department outline documents related to allegations from a woman who, according to documents within the database, claimed that around 1983, when she was around 13 years old, Jeffrey Epstein introduced her to Trump, “who subsequently forced her head down to his exposed penis which she subsequently bit. In response, Trump punched her in the head and kicked her out.”

Records released last month show the FBI interviewed the woman four times, but only one of those interviews has been published in the Justice Department’s public Epstein files database.

“In response to these disturbing revelations, DOJ refused to address the specific reasons for the withholding of these materials, noting only that it is suppressing documents that are ‘duplicates, privileged, or part of an ongoing federal investigation,'” Garcia wrote in the letter.

Garcia wrote that Bondi and the Justice Department have to explain why those documents have been withheld, and more specifically if there is an active investigation into the sexual abuse allegations against the president.

“The American people demand transparency and accountability, and any further delay by the Department continues to deny justice to the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes,” he wrote. “DOJ must specify the exact grounds for the withholding of FBI interviews containing specific allegations against President Trump, as well as provide an update on the status of any ongoing investigations into allegations of sexual assault against President Trump.”

The Justice Department has continued to defend its handling of the Epstein files release and offered differing responses to questions from NPR, other outlets and lawmakers.

Monday, a DOJ spokeswoman declined to answer questions on the record about these specific files, what’s in them, and why they are not published. After NPR’s report published Tuesday, the Justice Department reached out to NPR, taking issue with how its responses to questions were framed.

Justice Department spokeswoman Natalie Baldassarre reiterated DOJ’s stance that any documents not published are privileged, duplicates or relate to an ongoing federal investigation.

Wednesday, a Justice Department X account said that they were reviewing discovery documents included in the criminal case against Ghislaine Maxwell and “should any document be found to have been improperly tagged in the review process and is responsive to the Act, the Department will of course publish it, consistent with the law.”

When asked for comment earlier this week about the missing pages and the accusations against the president, a White House spokeswoman told NPR that Trump “has done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before him.”

“Just as President Trump has said, he’s been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told NPR in a statement. “And by releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and calling for more investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, President Trump has done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before him. Meanwhile, Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries and Stacey Plaskett have yet to explain why they were soliciting money and meetings from Epstein after he was a convicted sex offender.”

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have been investigating the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files and the release of documents required by law. Garcia said yesterday a parallel investigation would be opened into these missing documents.

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