(WASHINGTON) — Senate Democrats on Wednesday said they are attempting to force the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files through a little-known, decades-old law.
All seven Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee invoked a law that requires federal agencies provide information about “any matter within the jurisdiction of the committee” if at least five members request it.
“This letter demands that the Justice Department produce documents that Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have publicly already confirmed they have in their possession,” Sen. Gary Peters, the panel’s top Democrat, said at a press conference.
“We all know in fact that the attorney general said, quote, she said they’re sitting on her desk. It should be pretty easy to turn over documents that are sitting on the attorney general’s desk,” Peters added.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Peters was joined by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Richard Blumenthal at the press conference, during which they touted their move as a turning point in their quest for transparency over the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein matter.
“Today’s letter matters. It’s not a stunt, it’s not symbolic, it’s a formal exercise of congressional power under federal law, and we expect an answer from DOJ by August the 15, that’s what accountability looks like,” Schumer said. “This is what oversight looks like, and this is what keeping your promises to the American people look like.”
Blumenthal agreed that this measure was invoked as a powerful oversight tool.
“This letter has some force of law,” Blumenthal said. “This letter invokes a statute that has been little used because it has been unnecessary in the past to enforce transparency. It’s necessary now because this administration is stonewalling and stalling and concealing, and the American people are rightly asking where they have to hide. What’s at stake here is not just the president’s promises.”
The Democrats, who said their urging of a release of the Epstein files was also done as a way of seeking justice for Epstein’s victims, were asked at the news conference whether Democratic senators would be comfortable with redactions in their release.
Schumer said lawmakers “wouldn’t force any agreements that have been broken,” but added that he believes “almost everything can come out.”
Schumer also said that they’ve been “talking” to their Republican colleagues to get these files public but would eventually seek “recourse in the courts” if cooperation isn’t achieved.
“We have talked to some of our lawyers, and we will — this can be challenged in the courts, yes,” Schumer said.
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