House Judiciary Committee members seek access to full Epstein case files

3 days ago 9

Democratic members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee are asking the Justice Department for contiguous arrangements to presumption the afloat Jeffrey Epstein lawsuit files. In a ceremonial enquiry sent Saturday, the lawmakers said the request for a reappraisal of the papers is "urgent", successful portion due to the fact that of a forthcoming nationalist committee proceeding with Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The committee's inquiry, a transcript of which CBS News obtained Saturday, said the sheet has questions astir wherefore the Justice Department released lone fractional of the estimated pages of Epstein files.

"Our reappraisal is peculiarly urgent due to the fact that DOJ itself claims to person identified implicit 6 cardinal perchance responsive pages, but aft releasing lone astir fractional of them—including implicit 200,000 pages that DOJ redacted oregon withheld—says strangely that it has afloat complied with the (law)," the missive said.

The inquiry, signed by the panel's ranking subordinate and Maryland Democrat, Rep. Jamie Raskin, is addressed to Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche. It reminded Blanche that helium antecedently said that if immoderate subordinate of Congress wishes to reappraisal immoderate portions of the files "in immoderate unredacted form," they are invited to marque arrangements to bash so.

"The Democratic Members of the House Judiciary Committee bash privation to reappraisal the files," the missive said.

The Judiciary Committee Democrats are not the archetypal to inquire for entree to the afloat files. In a ceremonial petition sent Friday night, Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna asked for "access to unredacted documents of the Jeffrey Epstein files successful bid to fulfill Congress's oversight responsibilities and to guarantee that survivors person the transparency and accountability they deserve." Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Khanna, a California Democrat, sponsored the 2025 authorities that passed Congress and required a afloat merchandise of Epstein files.

The Congressional inquiries to the Justice Department question whether the Trump medication is withholding documents without justification.

"We question to guarantee that your redactions comply with the Act's request that materials beryllium withheld lone successful constrictive circumstances, specified arsenic protecting victims' personally identifiable information, and not connected the ground of 'embarrassment, reputational harm, oregon governmental sensitivity, including to immoderate authorities official, nationalist figure, oregon overseas dignitary,'" the Judiciary Committee Democrats' missive said.

Blanche defended the agency's papers merchandise and redactions astatine a quality league connected Friday.

"When we said that we were not legally allowed to merchandise documents, that's a fact," helium said. "That was true, it remains existent today, and past with the act's passage, we are present capable and directed to merchandise documents, which is what we are doing."

Groups of Epstein survivors person blasted the Trump medication for its handling of the files, including Friday's release.

"The Justice Department cannot assertion it is finished releasing files until each legally required papers is released and each abuser and enabler is afloat exposed," 1 group, which included Epstein survivors Annie Farmer and Dani Bensky, wrote successful a connection Friday.

The Justice Department did not instantly respond to requests for remark astir the Congressional inquiries.

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