Democrat Says Doj Withheld Epstein Files On Trump Abuse Claim

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice appears to person withheld from disclosure files connected disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein related to a declare that President Trump sexually abused a minor, a apical Democratic lawmaker said Tuesday.

“Oversight Democrats tin corroborate that nan DOJ appears to person illegally withheld FBI interviews pinch this subsister who accused President Trump of heinous crimes.” U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia of Long Beach said successful a statement. “Oversight Democrats will unfastened a parallel investigation into this.”

Garcia is nan top-ranking Democrat connected nan House committee probing Epstein and really national rule enforcement handled its investigation into activity trafficking accusations against nan financier.

Trump has many times said he trim ties pinch Epstein 2 decades agone and was not alert of nan precocious financier’s activities. The president has besides said he didn’t prosecute successful wrongdoing. Last year, Trump strenuously opposed releasing nan Epstein files but past signed authorities forcing their merchandise aft it was passed by Congress.

A Justice Department spokeswoman said nan record that listed each FBI interviews pinch nan unfortunate was temporarily removed successful bid to do redactions and put backmost online connected Thursday. The spokeswoman said nan section has not deleted immoderate of nan files and each documents responsive to nan rule person been produced unless they autumn wrong a class that justifies being withheld.

The White House pointed to a Justice Department societal media station saying “ALL responsive documents person been produced” unless location is simply a morganatic ineligible logic for withholding them. Democrats connected nan House Oversight Committee “should extremity misleading nan nationalist while manufacturing outrage from their extremist anti-Trump base,” nan connection added.

A White House spokesperson antecedently cited nan merchandise of documents arsenic grounds of its transparency and support for helping Epstein’s victims.

Sara Guerrero, a spokesperson for Garcia, said nan section “has yet to respond arsenic to why these documents are missing, contempt nan progressive lawsuit from nan Oversight Committee that does not let for withholding these documents. They are not addressing nan missing files astir nan subsister and her allegations.”

Legislation Congress passed past twelvemonth to unit disclosure of nan Epstein files permits constricted redactions for reasons specified arsenic to protect victims aliases classified accusation and to debar jeopardizing ongoing criminal investigations.

“Under nan Oversight Committee’s lawsuit and nan Epstein Files Transparency Act, these records must instantly beryllium shared pinch Congress and nan American public,” Garcia said. “Covering up nonstop grounds of a imaginable battle by nan President of nan United States is nan astir superior imaginable crime successful this White House screen up.”

Tarabay and Strohm constitute for Bloomberg News. Steven T. Dennis and Hadriana Lowenkron of Bloomberg contributed to this report.