Sixteen House Democrats, led by ranking Judiciary Committee member Jamie Raskin, have sent a letter to US Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding the release of all Epstein files referencing Donald Trump. The letter accuses the Justice Department of withholding documents to protect the president from damaging disclosures.
The Democrats also called for the full, unredacted release of Special Counsel Jack Smith's second volume report on Trump's handling of classified documents. They cited a now-deleted X post by Elon Musk, who claimed Trump is mentioned in the Epstein files and that this is why they have not been made public.
The demand follows a Justice Department and FBI memo stating no secret client list exists and reaffirming the 2019 conclusion that Epstein died by suicide. The department also released hallway surveillance footage, though a clock jump from 11:58:58pm to 12:00am was not addressed.
No evidence has emerged linking Trump to Epstein beyond what is already public. The letter argues Bondi has a track record of using the department to protect the president, noting the administration's claim of transparency has not been fulfilled.
Previous releases of Epstein files, hyped by Bondi as containing damaging details, were widely criticized for containing no new information. The second release also fell flat, with Monday's memo undercutting Bondi's own statements.
With Democrats in the minority, the request is unlikely to be answered. House Republicans have focused on investigating DOJ cases against Trump, including interviewing former prosecutor Jay Bratt, who invoked his Fifth Amendment rights.
