Senate Democrats on Wednesday deployed a rarely used oversight law to try to force the Department of Justice to release its files from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case.
Their end goal is to release the documents to the public, saying they will fulfill the promise President Trump and his allies have broken.
“After promising full transparency for years, every single time Trump, his administration [and] Republican leaders have had a chance to be transparent about the Epstein files, they’ve chosen to hide,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said.
“The evasions, the delays, the excuses – they are not just odd, they’re alarming,” the New York Democrat said. “It begs the question, if there’s nothing to hide. Why all the evasiveness?”
Mr. Schumer and all seven Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee signed a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting “the full and complete Epstein files.”
In their letter, the Democrats invoke a law known as “the rule of five” that requires executive agencies to release information when requested by at least five members of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Senate’s chief oversight panel.
It was unclear how many of the files would be subject to the law.
“It’s not a stunt. It’s not symbolic. It’s a formal exercise of congressional power under federal law, and we expect an answer from DOJ by August 15,” Mr. Schumer said.
The move follows similar efforts from their House counterparts to compel the release of the government’s files on Epstein, a millionaire financier and convicted sex offender who died in jail in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges.
A House Oversight subcommittee voted last week to subpoena the files following a motion from Rep. Summer Lee, Pennsylvania Democrat.
Democrats did not make any major moves to force the release of Epstein files during President Biden’s tenure. They said they are acting now because Mr. Trump and his top officials promised to publicly release the information, then declined to follow through, suggesting there is something to hide.
“This kind of reversal is what leads to distrust of elected officials. It also, we all know, it breeds conspiracy theories and misinformation,” said Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Gary Peters, Michigan Democrat.
“It’s certainly disappointing that we have to take this action to hold President Trump to his word, but we believe that providing this transparency is what is best for the American people,” he said.
Ms. Bondi led DOJ and FBI officials in a review of the Epstein files but decided earlier this month “that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.”
“Much of the material is subject to court-ordered sealing. Only a fraction of this material would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial, as the seal served only to protect victims and did not expose any additional third parties to allegations of illegal wrongdoing,” a DOJ memo on the decision said. “Through this review, we found no basis to revisit the disclosure of those materials and will not permit the release of child pornography.”
Mr. Schumer said the release of the documents that are under seal “will have to be litigated.”
The Justice Department, following a request from Mr. Trump, petitioned courts to unseal grand jury information related to charges brought against Epstein in Florida and New York. A district judge has already denied the request to unseal documents in the Florida case, and a decision has not yet been made in the New York case.
The oversight law Democrats are invoking does not prohibit the DOJ from making redactions, like for law enforcement sensitive material, in handing over files to Congress.
“We’re not going to force any agreements that have been broken, but we believe almost everything can come out,” Mr. Schumer said.
He said Democrats are talking to Republicans about joining their effort to compel the release of the Epstein files, which he hopes would help the DOJ decide to follow the law.
“But if not, there’s recourse in the courts,” Mr. Schumer said.
MAGA supporters have long suggested that evidence from the Epstein files would expose his influential associates, including prominent Democrats.
Mr. Trump is reportedly named in the files, although it’s unclear in what context. The president has denied any wrongdoing and said he and Epstein had a falling out years before he was first arrested on sex trafficking charges because the wealthy financier stole employees from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat and one of the letter signers, said the effort for disclosure in the Epstein case is about holding to account any accomplices in his exploitation of minors, “girls who were mercilessly and repeatedly subject to abuse and trafficking.”
“The American people have a right to know who else was involved,” he said.
DOJ said its review of the Epstein files revealed no incriminating client list or evidence to support an investigation against uncharged third parties.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has since interviewed Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after she was convicted of sex trafficking crimes in 2021. Epstein died in jail in 2019 before he could stand trial. Authorities ruled his death a suicide.
Mr. Blumenthal said the documents Democrats are demanding would include any notes or recordings from Mr. Blanche’s interview with Maxwell.
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.