1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

Congress passed a law requiring the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. The deadline has passed. The law has been ignored. And instead of outrage or oversight, Congress has chosen silence. That silence is indefensible. According to reporting, the FBI and Department of Justice have released Epstein-related documents in a manner that redacts the names of powerful, well-connected men while leaving the names and identifying details of victims visible. This is not transparency. It is a grotesque inversion of justice that protects the influential and exposes the abused. The legislation passed by Congress and signed into law was explicit in its intent: sunlight, accountability, and compliance with victim-protection standards. What the public has received instead is selective secrecy, missed deadlines, and disclosures that retraumatize survivors while shielding those with political or financial power. Even more disturbing is that victims of sexual trafficking and assault have now had their identities exposed in government-released files — a failure so severe it raises questions of negligence, incompetence, or deliberate indifference. Attorney General Pam Bondi bears direct responsibility for overseeing a Department of Justice that allowed this to happen. At a minimum, she should be answering publicly for why victims were left vulnerable while alleged perpetrators were protected. Why is Congress not demanding answers? Why are there no emergency hearings? Why has there been no subpoena, no enforcement action, no public demand for immediate compliance with the law you passed? The deadline has passed. The DOJ is out of compliance. And Congress appears content to do nothing. That sends a chilling message: that survivors of sexual violence matter less than the reputations of powerful men, and that congressional oversight only exists when it is politically convenient. This was not a suggestion. It was the law. If Congress will not enforce its own statutes, then it is actively participating in their violation. If Congress will not protect trafficking victims from being exposed by the federal government, then it is complicit in their harm. The American people are watching. Survivors are watching. And history will not look kindly on lawmakers who chose comfort and silence over accountability and basic human decency. I expect you to explain — publicly — why Congress has failed to act, and what you intend to do immediately to force full compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act and protect the victims whose lives have already been shattered enough. Your silence is no longer neutral. It is an answer.