House Democrats request hearing on Trump admin handling of Epstein files

WASHINGTON (CN) — A coalition of House Democrats on Tuesday urged their Republican colleagues to hold a hearing on the Trump administration’s recent move closing the book on a yearslong investigation into disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“The Trump DOJ and FBI’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein matter, and President Trump’s suddenly shifting positions, have not restored anyone’s trust in the government but have rather raised profound new questions about their own conduct while increasing public paranoia related to the investigation,” Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee wrote in a letter to Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, the panel’s chairman.

President Donald Trump has long vowed to declassify the so-called “Epstein files” on the campaign trail, a trove of documents that some conspiracy theorists and even people who would eventually join his second administration speculated would reveal a client list detailing his connections to prominent figures who were associated with his crimes.

And the Epstein files, some suggested, would supply evidence contradicting the longstanding conclusion that the late New York financier killed himself in 2019 in a Manhattan prison cell.

But last week, a Justice Department memo dashed any hopes that the second Trump administration would make the supposed Epstein files public. The agency concluded that there was, in fact, no client list and that there was no “credible evidence” that the convicted sex offender had blackmailed prominent people as part of his crimes. The Justice Department and FBI, the memo said, did not believe disclosing documents related to Epstein would be “appropriate or warranted.”

The move sent shockwaves through Trump’s right-wing supporters, who were furious with an administration they believed would shed light on conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein’s crimes and his death. It’s also caused a rift between the FBI and the Justice Department — FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino was reportedly furious with Attorney General Pam Bondi, who had previously suggested the Epstein files were on her desk, only to publicly announce a lack of evidence.

Trump, though, has urged people to move on from the issue, writing in a Saturday post on his social media platform Truth Social that his supporters should not waste “time and energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”

House Democrats, though, argued Tuesday that the Trump administration had done little to quash interest in the case with its move to keep Epstein documents under wraps.

“Mr. Epstein reportedly took his own life to escape justice, robbing his victims and the public of an opportunity to hold him accountable for his shocking crimes,” they told Jordan. “In the absence of facts and evidence related to Mr. Epstein’s sex trafficking enterprise and the ‘vast network’ of underage victims he created, the public will turn to conspiracy theories to fill the void of credible information.”

The Democrats accused Trump and White House officials of acting out of “political self-interest,” adding that their efforts to “suppress” the release of Epstein documents have fed new conspiracy theories and conjecture.

“At this point, the public has no idea if new information on the Epstein case even exists, why it was repeatedly promised to us if not, and if it does, what it may contain or mean for public safety and the victims of the Epstein ring,” they said.

Urging Jordan to hold a hearing on the matter, the Democratic lawmakers contended that the Trump administration’s longstanding claims about the Epstein files needed to be submitted to public scrutiny. They called on the Judiciary Committee chairman to compel Bondi and Bongino, as well as FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, to testify before the panel.

“[H]olding a public hearing at which these officials testify should go a long way toward restoring some public trust in the integrity of federal law enforcement,” the lawmakers wrote.

The Judiciary Committee has so far not publicly addressed the Epstein files. The panel’s official X account in February made a joke post purporting to provide a link to the much-vaunted documents — which was in reality a “Rickroll” prank.

House Democrats have latched onto the Epstein files and Trump’s refusal to publish them in recent days. Lawmakers on Tuesday attempted to force floor debate on a resolution instructing the White House to release Epstein documents. Nearly every Republican, including Jordan, voted against the procedural measure.

And Judiciary Committee Democrats last week demanded that Bondi release parts of the Epstein files that “mention or reference” Trump. They argued that the Justice Department’s move to keep the documents classified “raises the question” that the files implicate the president in some way, though there is currently no public evidence to corroborate that.

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