High Democrats on Thursday accused Lawyer Normal Pam Bondi and the Justice Division of a “cover-up” over how they’ve dealt with the discharge of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
“We’re right here at this time to place a shot throughout the bow of the Division of Justice and the Trump administration that we’re going to reveal this huge cover-up,” Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer mentioned at a information convention. “We is not going to relaxation. It is an all-out oversight effort, we’ll pull on each thread. We’ll chase each lead. We’ll discuss with whistleblowers.”
Exterior a House Oversight Committee deposition of former secretary of state and first woman Hillary Clinton associated to Epstein on Thursday, Rep. Robert Garcia, the highest Democrat on the committee, additionally accused the Justice Division of a cover-up.
“At this very second, the Division of Justice continues to steer a White Home cover-up, and we’re going to be demanding over the subsequent few days that the remaining recordsdata that haven’t been launched get launched to the general public,” Garcia mentioned.
Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer delivers remarks throughout a press convention on the continuing Senate oversight efforts on the Epstein recordsdata on the US Capitol in Washington, February 26, 2026.
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Garcia mentioned that features the recent discovery that the DOJ seems to have withheld some which Garcia mentioned embrace accusations towards Trump.
“It’s unconscionable, it’s unlawful, and Pam Bondi and the president must reply the place these recordsdata are,” he mentioned.
The Justice Division didn’t instantly reply to ABC Information’ request for touch upon the Democrats’ allegations. However in a statement posted on X on Wednesday, it vowed to publish any paperwork if they’re “discovered to have been improperly tagged within the assessment course of.”
“A number of people and information shops have lately flagged recordsdata associated to paperwork produced to Ghislaine Maxwell in discovery of her legal case that they declare look like lacking,” the DOJ account mentioned. “As with all paperwork which were flagged by the general public, the Division is presently reviewing recordsdata inside that class of the manufacturing. Ought to any doc be discovered to have been improperly tagged within the assessment course of and is aware of the Act, the Division will after all publish it, in keeping with the legislation.”
Schumer and Sen. Dick Durbin, the highest Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, additionally mentioned that they despatched a letter to the Justice Division and the FBI requesting that they protect data associated to the administration of the Epstein recordsdata over the course of the Trump administration.
The Democrats accused the Trump administration of “mishandling the recordsdata for a 12 months” and mentioned that after Congress handed the Epstein Recordsdata Transparency Act, the White Home broke the legislation in producing the overwhelming majority of recordsdata after the deadline.
Rep. Robert Garcia, joined by Democratic members of the Home Oversight Committee speaks to members of the media earlier than a closed-door deposition with former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Feb. 26, 2026 in Chappaqua, New York.
David Dee Delgado/Getty Pictures
They mentioned it additionally broke the legislation by violating the laws’s safety for victims by publishing some data with out redacting personally identifiable info and together with nude photographs the place names and faces might be recognized.
Blanche and Bondi wrote to Congress final month that greater than 500 attorneys and others had been concerned in reviewing the paperwork. In a Jan. 30 assertion, the DOJ mentioned, “The Division coordinated intently with victims and their legal professionals to make sure that the manufacturing of paperwork consists of mandatory redactions. We wish to instantly right any redaction errors that our group might have made; so, the Division has established an electronic mail inbox for victims to succeed in us on to right redaction considerations when acceptable.”
Trump has persistently denied allegations of any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein or any data of Epstein’s crimes.
“It is clear that Donald Trump and his Republican enablers are executing a cover-up and conceal technique. Heads are rolling on the highest ranges in the UK. Will heads roll in america?” Durbin mentioned.
“As I informed Normal Bondi throughout final 12 months’s Judiciary Committee oversight listening to, quote, ‘Finally, you are going to should reply to your conduct on this. You will not do it at this time however ultimately you’ll,'” Durbin mentioned.
