DOJ Reviews Whether Epstein Files Mentioning Trump Were Improperly Withheld

DOJ Reviews Whether Epstein Files Mentioning Trump Were Improperly Withheld

DOJ Reviews Whether Epstein Files Mentioning Trump Were Improperly Withheld

The Department of Justice announced on February 26, 2026, that it is reviewing whether it wrongfully withheld documents from the Epstein files containing allegations against President Donald Trump.

Background: The Epstein Files Transparency Act

The DOJ released millions of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein in January 2026 to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed by Congress in November 2025. Under the Act, the DOJ is required to publicize most documents related to the cases against Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

The department is permitted to withhold files only if they are duplicates, fall under attorney-client privilege, could harm an ongoing investigation, or are completely unrelated to the Epstein and Maxwell cases. The law specifically prohibits withholding or redacting files because they could be embarrassing to public officials.

Missing FBI Interview Notes

FBI notes from 2019 interviews with a woman who made allegations against both Epstein and Trump were omitted from the release. The files were also missing from the unredacted collection available for members of Congress to review at the Department of Justice, Democratic Representative Robert Garcia of California told NBC News.

A review of the released documents shows the DOJ published an FBI summary of the woman's first FBI interview on July 24, 2019, in which she detailed an assault she said she faced from Epstein on Hilton Head Island beginning when she was around 13 in the 1980s. That summary, which came shortly after Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges, does not mention allegations against Trump.

The FBI determined the woman's initial allegations against Epstein were significant enough that agents followed up with three additional interviews on August 7, 2019, August 20, 2019, and October 16, 2019. Notes from all four FBI interviews were included on a list of materials provided to Maxwell's defense attorneys in 2021 and were described as non-testifying witness material, according to another file in the release.

The Allegation Against Trump

A source familiar with the investigation told NBC News that the survivor is the same person who made an additional allegation that she was forced into a sex act with Trump when she was about 13 or 14 years old in New Jersey. This accusation was summarized in a document prepared by the FBI last summer in a presentation on prominent names mentioned in the Epstein and Maxwell cases.

The FBI has said that most of the claims in that presentation were either deemed not credible or made by people who provided no contact information.

At around the same time the woman came forward with these allegations, she joined a civil lawsuit against the Epstein estate, claiming he sexually abused her around 1984. The suit claimed Epstein flew her to New York and trafficked her to "prominent wealthy men." She was deemed ineligible for the Epstein Victim's Compensation Program, and the suit was voluntarily dismissed in 2021, according to the Wall Street Journal.

DOJ Review Process

Before releasing the files, the Department of Justice deployed hundreds of attorneys to review the documents, giving them instructions on how to redact and determine whether files needed to be released under the law, according to the Wall Street Journal. The reviewers, many of whom had little familiarity with the Epstein case, were expected to flag any "government officials and politically exposed persons named or referenced in the released materials."

A spokeswoman for the department said in a statement: "Should any document be found to have been improperly tagged in the review process and is responsive to the Act, the department will of course publish it, consistent with the law."

The DOJ had cautioned ahead of the release that the files may include fake or false materials sent to the FBI from the public. Officials said at the time: "Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims about President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already."

Statements from Officials

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who oversaw the release of the files, stated at a news conference on January 30: "I can assure that we complied with the statute, that we did not protect President Trump. We didn't protect or not protect anybody."

President Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has said his friendship with Epstein ended before Epstein pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008. By the time Epstein was arrested again in 2019, Trump said he had not talked to him in about 15 years.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told NPR: "Just as President Trump has said, he's been totally exonerated on anything related to Epstein. By releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee's subpoena request, signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act and calling for more investigations into Epstein's Democrat friends, President Trump has done more for Epstein's victims than anyone before him."

Congressional Response

Representative Garcia, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, issued a statement on Tuesday, February 25, 2026, saying he planned to open an investigation into the missing files. He stated the DOJ "appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews with this survivor who accused President Trump of heinous crimes."

Garcia told NBC News: "This is definitely, in my opinion, evidence of a cover-up happening. Why are these documents missing?"

He added: "These documents I personally saw, I know who the survivor is, the name is redacted in the doc — in the manifest document — and there are documents missing from the same survivor that appeared to be interviews or conversations, again, appear to be with the FBI. The FBI has clearly investigated and now those documents are gone."

Special Counsel Request

Separately, Representatives Dan Goldman of New York and Ted Lieu of California sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General Blanche asking him to appoint a special counsel to investigate whether Attorney General Pam Bondi lied to Congress during her testimony before the House Judiciary Committee earlier in February 2026, Politico reports.

At the hearing, Bondi stated there is "no evidence" in the Epstein documents that shows Trump committed a crime. Goldman and Lieu pointed to the unsubstantiated claim in the Epstein documents that Trump allegedly forced himself on the young girl.

Representative Lieu had previously accused Bondi of lying to Congress during her testimony. Bondi responded: "Don't you ever accuse me of a crime."

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Source

Reported by Melissa Koenig for Mail Online. Read original article.