Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urges legal action over DOJ’s release of the Epstein files
WASHINGTON (NBC, KYMA) - Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday he is introducing a resolution directing the Senate to initiate legal action against the DOJ for its blatant disregard of the law in its refusal to release the complete Epstein files.
In a post on X, Sen. Schumer (D-NY) wrote, "The law Congress passed is crystal clear: Release the Epstein files in full so Americans can see the truth."
The senator also wrote, "Instead, the Trump Department of Justice dumped redactions and withheld the evidence that breaks the law."
Schumer will force consideration of the measure in January when the Senate reconvenes Monday, January 5.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) who co-authored the bill that compelled the DOJ to release its records on Jeffrey Epstein, said, over the weekend, they plan on taking action in the house as well.
The DOJ released only a portion of its investigative files on Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell Friday.
The law, which President Donald Trump signed into law on November 19, gave Attorney General Pam Bondi 30 days to make publicly available in a "searchable and downloadable format all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in the possession of the department of justice" involving Epstein, including all investigations, prosecutions, or custodial matters."
A group of Epstein victims issued a statement Monday urging lawmakers to intervene.
The statement said that the "public received a fraction of the files, and what we received was riddled with abnormal and extreme redactions with no explanation.
At the same time, numerous victim identities were left unredacted, causing real and immediate harm."
They said the DOJ "violated the law," and urged "immediate congressional oversight, including hearings, formal demands for compliance, and legal action, to ensure the Department of Justice fulfills its legal obligations."
