Joint Statement by Ranking Members Robert Garcia and Jamie Raskin on Trump Administration Decision to Defy Epstein Files Transparency Act

Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed that the Department of Justice will fail to release all of the Epstein files to the American public by the legal deadline set by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law that was forced through by House Democrats and reluctantly signed into law by President Trump in November. 

“Donald Trump and the Department of Justice are now violating federal law as they continue covering up the facts and the evidence about Jeffrey Epstein's decades-long, billion-dollar, international sex trafficking ring. For months, Pam Bondi has denied survivors the transparency and accountability they have demanded and deserve and has defied the Oversight Committee’s subpoena. The Department of Justice is now making clear it intends to defy Congress itself, even as it gives star treatment to Epstein's convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Courts around the country have repeatedly intervened when this Administration has broken the law. We are now examining all legal options in the face of this violation of federal law. The survivors of this nightmare deserve justice, the co-conspirators must be held accountable, and the American people deserve complete transparency from DOJ,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin. 

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