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DOJ
Faces
Fire
Over
Missing
Epstein
Files
Tying
Trump to
Sex
Abuse
Claims
Jordan
Jenkins,
Senior
Investigative
Reporter
Tell Us
USA News
Network
WASHINGTON
-
Federal
investigators
are now
under
the
microscope
for what
looks
like a
textbook
case of
fumbling—or
worse,
burying—Jeffrey
Epstein-related
records
that
point
straight
to
sexual
misconduct
allegations
against
President
Donald
Trump.
Congressional
Democrats
are
crying
foul,
accusing
the
Justice
Department
of
withholding
or even
“losing”
critical
files,
while
the
White
House
fires
back
that
Trump
stands
“completely
exonerated.”
The
Massive
Document
Dump—and
Its
Glaring
Holes
The DOJ
has
rolled
out some
3.5
million
pages of
Epstein
material,
courtesy
of the
Epstein
Files
Transparency
Act that
Trump
himself
signed
last
year
amid
bipartisan
arm-twisting
from
Congress.
These
late
January
and
February
batches
pack FBI
reports,
internal
memos,
emails,
photos,
and
court
docs—riddled
with
mentions
of Trump
and his
inner
circle.
But
here's
where it
gets
messy:
officials
admit to
botched
redactions
that
leaked
victims'
private
details,
and
bigger
still,
yawning
gaps in
the
handover,
especially
docs
linked
to Trump
allegations.
The
Vanished
Interviews
at the
Heart of
It
NPR and
others
broke
the
story:
the
public
release
skips
FBI
interviews
with a
woman
who
claimed
Epstein
abused
her and
separately
accused
Trump of
assaulting
her as a
minor.
Ghislaine
Maxwell
case
logs
flag at
least
four
such
2019
sessions—pointing
to over
50 pages
that
should
be there
but
aren't.
Rep.
Robert
Garcia,
House
Oversight's
top
Democrat,
says he
pored
over
unredacted
files at
DOJ this
week and
came up
empty on
those
Trump-tied
records.
“Clear
evidence
of a
cover-up,”
he calls
it.
Committee
Dems say
it
flouts
the
Transparency
Act and
a 2025
subpoena
demanding
every
Epstein
scrap.
DOJ
insists
it's
combing
through
for
“mistakenly
withheld”
items,
zeroing
in on
files
flagged
by
lawmakers,
press,
and
victims'
attorneys.
Trump's
Name
Everywhere—But
No
Smoking
Gun
(Yet)
Trump
pops up
over
1,000
times
across
the
millions
of
pages, a
nod to
their
long
social
and
business
dance.
FBI
files
reveal a
dossier
of
unverified
assault
claims
against
him,
including
nods to
that
same
missing-interview
woman.
Fresh
disclosures
show
prosecutors
uncovered
proof
Trump
hitched
rides on
Epstein's
jet
multiple
times in
the
'90s—dashing
his
flat-out
denials
of ever
stepping
foot on
it. One
victim
recounted
Ghislaine
Maxwell
introducing
her to
Trump at
a New
York
bash,
later
whispering
he
“liked”
her and
she was
“available”—though
she
stressed
nothing
went
down.
Epstein's
files
also
track
Trump's
political
ascent,
with
chummy
emails
to Trump
allies
like
Steve
Bannon
and Elon
Musk. No
criminal
sex-trafficking
links to
Trump or
them so
far,
mind
you.
Political
Crossfire
Heats Up
Trump's
stuck to
his
guns,
denying
all
Epstein
ties or
wrongdoing.
White
House
spokespeople
this
week
touted
his
“complete
exoneration,”
framing
the
claims
as
“false
and
sensational”
amid
thousands
of
exonerating
pages—and
reminding
everyone
he
greenlit
the
transparency
law.
GOP
counters
by
spotlighting
Epstein's
Democratic
connections;
Dems
want a
standalone
probe
into the
missing
Trump
FBI
interviews.
Global
rights
watchdogs
slam the
sloppy
rollout,
warning
botched
redactions
and
voids
erode
accountability
for
Epstein's
horrors—and
any
enablers
in high
places.
The
Reckoning
Ahead
DOJ's
review
marches
on,
hinting
at more
drops or
fixes.
On the
Hill,
Oversight
eyes
subpoenas
and
hearings—not
just on
Epstein's
web, but
DOJ's
fidelity
to the
Trump-signed
law.
This
could
drag the
Epstein-Trump
saga
through
election-season
headlines
for
months.
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