Npr npr: Dems Say DOJ 'Illegally' Buried Epstein Files Related to Allegation Against Trump
npr on Tuesday said the Justice Department withheld documents tied to an allegation that President Donald Trump sexually abused a minor, including over 50 pages of FBI interviews with the accuser. House Democrats say the department withheld and removed some Epstein files and will investigate the handling of those materials.
Npr disclosure and withheld files
npr reported on Tuesday that the Justice Department withheld documents related to allegations that Trump sexually abused a minor, and that the withheld material included more than 50 pages of FBI interviews with the accuser. The development followed what Democrats say was an effort last year by Donald Trump and his administration to keep the government’s files on Jeffrey Epstein from seeing the light of day.
Allegations dated to around 1983
A later independent confirmation on Tuesday added that the accuser alleged that around 1983 Trump forced her to perform oral sex on him when she was 13 or 14 years old and that Trump hit her when she resisted. The files contain that allegation alongside other unsubstantiated allegations against Trump and other prominent figures.
Oversight Democrats to open parallel investigation
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif. ), the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, released a statement addressing the missing files and announced that Oversight Committee Democrats are going to investigate. Garcia said Oversight Democrats have been examining the FBI’s handling of allegations from 2019 of sexual assault on a minor made against President Donald Trump by a survivor, and that he reviewed unredacted evidence logs at the Department of Justice.
Garcia wrote that Oversight Democrats can confirm that the DOJ appears to have "illegally withheld FBI interviews with this survivor who accused President Trump of heinous crimes, " and that Oversight Democrats will open a parallel investigation into the matter.
Files released piecemeal, questions remain
After Congress voted to force the Justice Department to release the material, the department has done so in a piecemeal, incomplete manner, which Democrats say has raised more questions about Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with some of the most powerful figures in the United States—including the president. There is no public evidence that Trump was involved in Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, but Trump’s name allegedly appears in the files thousands of times.
State of the Union actions and reactions
Democrats said they are trying to raise awareness about the Justice Department’s handling of the files ahead of President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night. Several Democrats plan to wear lapel pins calling for the full release of the files, and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif. ), a vocal advocate for transparency, is bringing Haley Robson, a survivor of Epstein’s abuse, to the State of the Union as his guest. "We will not quit, we will not rest until we get justice for the survivors, " Khanna said in a video.
Khanna and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky. ) led the bipartisan congressional effort to force the Justice Department to release the files, and the two lawmakers are expected to sit together during the State of the Union despite belonging to different parties. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S. C. ) said she will wear a pin honoring Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Questions about the completeness of the release, the allegations dating to around 1983, Garcia’s finding that interviews may have been withheld, the involvement of multiple lawmakers in seeking disclosure, and the presence of Trump’s name in the files thousands of times remain central to the Oversight Committee’s planned inquiry.
