1. United States
2. Fla.
3. Letter

An NPR investigation has uncovered that the Justice Department is illegally withholding documents from the public Epstein files database that contain sexual abuse accusations against President Trump. Despite the Epstein Files Transparency Act mandating their release, more than 50 pages of FBI interviews with a woman who accused Trump of sexual abuse when she was a minor remain hidden from public view. According to the released files, this woman told the FBI that around 1983, when she was approximately 13 years old, Jeffrey Epstein introduced her to Trump, who subsequently forced her head down to his exposed penis, which she bit. In response, Trump punched her in the head and kicked her out. The FBI interviewed this accuser four times between 2019 and 2021, but only the first interview appears in the public database, and that interview does not mention Trump. Of 15 documents listed in Maxwell case discovery material for this accuser, only seven are publicly available. A second woman's interview was removed from the public database after initial publication on January 30. She described how Epstein took her to Mar-a-Lago when she was around 13 years old and being abused. Upon meeting her, Trump was told by Epstein, "This is a good one, huh." Both men chuckled while she felt uncomfortable. House Oversight Committee ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia has confirmed that "the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews with this survivor who accused President Trump of heinous crimes." Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are opening a parallel investigation into this matter. The Justice Department declined to answer NPR's questions on the record about these specific files and why they are not published. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche claimed in a February 14 letter that no records were withheld based on embarrassment or political sensitivity, yet the evidence contradicts this assertion. I urge you to demand the immediate and complete release of all withheld Epstein files, support the House Oversight Committee's investigation into DOJ's illegal withholding of documents, and ensure accountability for any officials who violated the Epstein Files Transparency Act to protect the president from scrutiny.