1. United States
  2. Mass.
  3. Letter

DOJ Obstruction of Epstein Files Disclosure

To: Sen. Markey, Rep. Trahan, Sen. Warren

From: A verified voter in Lowell, MA

January 17

I am writing to urge you to exercise the full scope of Congress’s constitutional and statutory authority to enforce the Epstein Files Transparency Act and to ensure that no executive agency is permitted to place itself beyond oversight, judicial review, or the rule of law. Congress passed this Act with overwhelming bipartisan support. It imposed clear obligations and firm deadlines requiring the disclosure of unclassified records related to Jeffrey Epstein and his network. Those deadlines have been missed. Compliance has been partial at best. Most troubling, the Department of Justice has reportedly argued that federal courts lack the authority to compel compliance with the Act at all. If an executive agency can ignore a duly enacted statute and then claim immunity from enforcement, Congress’s lawmaking power is effectively nullified. That outcome cannot be accepted. I urge Congress to take immediate action using all tools available, including but not limited to the following: • Conduct full oversight hearings and demand sworn testimony from Department of Justice officials explaining their failure to meet statutory deadlines. • Issue subpoenas for all unclassified Epstein-related records and internal DOJ communications concerning compliance with the Act. • Use appropriations authority to condition or restrict funding until full compliance is achieved. • Formally support and seek the appointment of an independent special master or monitor to oversee disclosure, review redactions, and enforce lawful timelines. • Direct the Government Accountability Office and the DOJ Inspector General to investigate whether the Department is unlawfully withholding records or acting in bad faith. If these measures fail, Congress must be prepared to escalate further. If DOJ leadership is willfully obstructing a federal statute or asserting that it is beyond congressional and judicial authority, Congress should open impeachment-related inquiries into that obstruction. The refusal to faithfully execute the law is itself a constitutional violation that demands investigation. And if the Department of Justice cannot be trusted to enforce the Epstein Files Transparency Act in good faith, Congress should remove it from that role entirely by creating an independent disclosure authority or special prosecutor with custody of the records and the power to publish unclassified materials directly. This is not about partisanship. It is about whether powerful institutions are subject to the same laws as everyone else. Survivors, victims, and the public deserve transparency — not delay, defiance, or procedural evasion. Congress wrote this law. Congress must now enforce it.

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