GOP senators warn Bondi not to slow-walk release of Epstein files
Republican senators are warning Attorney General Pam Bondi not to slow-walk the public release of records and documents related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein following votes by the House and Senate demanding the documents.
The calls come amid speculation that the Justice Department may cite ongoing investigations or other reasons to hold back material.
Bondi said Wednesday that “new information” obtained by investigators had spurred the Justice Department to reverse its earlier decision to close investigations related to Epstein.
Democrats are warning that new investigations into high-profile associates of Epstein, such as former President Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, could be cited as justification to withhold documents or videos of Epstein’s mansion in Manhattan.
Some Republican lawmakers are warning the Trump administration that keeping back records, including possible footage of people who visited Epstein’s properties, would be a big mistake.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) warned that “people who feel very strongly about this will feel like they’ve been duped” if the Justice Department claims “we can’t release anything because we have an active investigation.”
“I don’t think that that will help calm the suspicions many have harbored for a long while on this,” she said.
She cited the 427-1 vote in the House and the unanimous consent of all 100 senators to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act on Tuesday as a show of overwhelming support to release all of the unclassified Epstein files immediately.
“I think it’s not only congressional intent, it’s overwhelming,” Murkowski said. “When was the last time you saw a vote like that in the House?”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) warned that delaying the release of Epstein-related documents would trigger an angry backlash, though he acknowledged the Justice Department may have to take steps to ensure that investigations are not hindered.
“You can adjust for whatever investigations are going on, but if you do a blanket hold, I think that they’re going to have a lot of people angry,” he said.
Tillis, a member of the Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Justice Department, pointed to the unanimous vote in the Senate for the Epstein disclosure bill — and only one dissenting vote in the House against it — as a sign of the strong public interest in shedding more light on who else participated in Epstein’s sex-trafficking activities.
“I think they would do well to figure how to release as much as possible and then have a very well-articulated reason for that which they can’t,” he said.
“It would add fuel to the fire if they don’t produce something meaningful,” Tillis warned.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), another member of the Judiciary Committee, said it would be a “mistake” for the Justice Department to fail to meet the expectations of lawmakers and Epstein’s victims in producing additional documents and records.
“Obviously, it would be a mistake, because Congress has spoken,” he said. “I fully expect the Justice Department to release all the documents. It will take a while but I believe they’ve started on it right now.”
“I’m hoping we’ll see the first tranche” of documents “after Thanksgiving,” he added.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) told reporters Wednesday that “all the credible information that can be released should be released.”
Bondi told reporters at a press conference Wednesday that the Justice Department will “follow the law,” acknowledging the passage of the Epstein transparency bill.
“We will follow the law. The law passed both chambers,” she said. “We will continue to follow the law, again, while protecting victims but also providing maximum transparency.”
Bondi indicated the Justice Department would release additional Epstein files within 30 days, as required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act. She noted the department has already released 33,000 Epstein-related documents to Congress.
Democrats, who pressed the Justice Department for months to release more documents related to Epstein, are skeptical, however, that Bondi will follow through on her pledge.
“This is Pam Bondi. She works for Trump. This is all a setup. Trump fought to the end to resist release. He lost. Do I believe he’s had a real conversion? No. He anticipated the outcome and then ordered Bondi to begin other investigations, so we’ll be seeing the Justice Department withholding information because it might interfere with ongoing investigations,” said Sen. Peter Welch (Vt.), a Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.
“The concealment will continue,” he predicted.
Democrats note Bondi claimed in February that Epstein’s client list was “sitting on my desk right now to review” but that in July, the Department of Justice and FBI released an unsigned memo asserting there was “no incriminating ‘client list.’”
The memo further stated federal investigators “did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”
The Justice Department changed course Friday when Bondi announced she had directed Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to investigate Epstein’s ties to prominent Democrats and institutions.
Her announcement came hours after President Trump urged the Justice Department to investigate Clinton, Summers and JPMorgan and Chase banks over their relationships with Epstein.
“I will be asking A.G. Pam Bondi, and the Department of Justice, together with our great patriots at the FBI, to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, J.P. Morgan, Chase and many other people and institutions, to determine what was going on with them, and him,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) highlighted Bondi’s close relationship with Trump at a press conference Wednesday, at which he displayed a poster-sized Wall Street Journal headline reporting the Justice Department told Trump in May that “his name is among many in the Epstein files.”
Schumer said Democrats would apply “pressure” on the Justice Department “to make sure the documents are released in their entirety and not warped by a corrupt DOJ, who’s hell-bent on hiding the truth, bending the law, and protecting Trump.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) responded to the Democratic criticism by expressing his confidence that Bondi will follow the law while protecting Epstein’s victims.
“I trust the judgment of the Justice Department to ensure that whatever files they release protect the victims,” he said. “I think there are other items, perhaps materials that were acquired through grand jury trials, that perhaps they will have to make some decisions about, but I think they will make the right decisions.”
He said the “clear intent” of Congress’s passage of the disclosure bill is to “get the information out there.”
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