The release of the Epstein files has triggered a political clash in Washington after a senior Democrat accused the US Justice Department of withholding documents containing allegations against President Donald Trump.
Robert Garcia, who sits on the House Oversight Committee, said he personally viewed unredacted material that includes allegations of sexual abuse of a minor made against Trump. He claimed the documents have not been made public.
Justice Department denies cover-up
In response, the Justice Department insisted that “nothing has been deleted” from the Epstein files. Officials said they withheld certain documents only if they were duplicates, legally privileged, or part of an ongoing federal investigation.
The department also said some files contain “untrue and sensationalist claims” against Trump and stressed that any credible allegations would already have faced scrutiny.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to the case and recently stated he had been “totally exonerated”.
White House response
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the president had shown transparency by releasing thousands of pages of material, cooperating with congressional requests and signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
She argued that Trump had done more for Epstein’s victims than any previous administration.
Missing FBI interviews
Garcia said the unredacted Epstein files “make it clear” that a woman made additional, specific allegations against Trump that do not appear in the publicly released records. He has written to Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding publication of the documents.
US media reports, including NPR and The New York Times, suggest that three FBI interview summaries with an alleged Epstein victim from 2019 are missing from the Justice Department’s website. File indexes reportedly indicate four interviews took place, but only one appears in the public release.
According to heavily redacted documents, the woman told federal agents that Jeffrey Epstein raped her as a minor in the early 1980s. Other file entries refer to allegations that she was sexually abused by Trump between 1983 and 1985, when she would have been aged 13 to 15.
Investigators reportedly flagged the allegation for follow-up and sent it to a Washington field office to conduct an interview. However, the available documents contain no information confirming whether agents corroborated the claims or assessed their credibility.
Epstein’s links to Trump
Epstein and Trump appear to have known each other from the late 1980s and were photographed together at events during the following decade. Trump has said their friendship ended in the early 2000s, before Epstein’s first arrest.
In a 2002 interview with New York Magazine, Trump described Epstein as a “terrific guy” and commented that he liked “beautiful women”, including some “on the younger side”.
Trump’s name appears in several of the released Epstein files, though inclusion in the documents does not imply wrongdoing.
Political fallout
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee described the situation as “the largest government cover-up in modern history” and demanded further answers.
In a statement posted on X, the Justice Department said it would review whether any files had been improperly withheld. As a member of Congress, Garcia can legally review unredacted versions of the Epstein files as part of the committee’s investigation.
Ghislaine Maxwell, a former associate of Epstein, was jailed in 2022 for sex trafficking offences. The FBI interviews in question reportedly formed part of the broader investigation linked to her prosecution.
Epstein died in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
The political dispute over the Epstein files is likely to intensify as lawmakers continue to review the material and press for further disclosures.
Source: BBC
Also read: Child sexual abuse sentence increased to 15 years
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