The Department of Justice is facing sharp criticism and a new congressional inquiry after reports alleged it withheld and removed Jeffrey Epstein case documents that describe an accusation that President Donald Trump sexually assaulted a minor, according to multiple outlets.
The controversy centers on a recent NPR investigation, which reported that more than 50 pages of FBI interview records and notes tied to a woman who said Trump abused her when she was underage do not appear in the public "Epstein files" database.
Those missing records allegedly include detailed accounts of the woman's claim that Trump sexually abused her in the early 1980s while she was also being victimized by Epstein, according to People.
House Democrats on the Oversight Committee have announced a formal investigation into why those materials were withheld and whether the DOJ complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed by Congress last year.
Committee members say they compared the public database with internal evidence manifests and discovered discrepancies involving documents that mention Trump and alleged abuse of a minor.
Read more: Jeffrey Epstein's Ties to U.S. Customs Officers in Virgin Islands Spark Criminal Investigation
According to reporting, one missing file is a slide presentation listing powerful men connected to Epstein, where a redacted individual, believed to have been between 13 and 15 at the time, accused Trump of forcing her to perform a sex act and reacting violently when she resisted. Other missing material reportedly includes FBI interview notes and internal communications about the same accuser.
The DOJ has disputed the allegation that it intentionally hid documents, saying some items were "temporarily removed for victim redactions" and have since been restored or withheld only for reasons such as duplication, privilege, or ongoing investigations, the Rolling Stone reported.
A department spokesperson insisted that "no documents have been deleted" and that all responsive records were produced in line with legal requirements.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and last week claimed he was "totally exonerated" by the trove of files released so far. The White House has directed questions to the DOJ statements and has not addressed the specific allegation that some Epstein-related documents naming Trump were initially kept from public release.
Democratic lawmakers argue the alleged omissions suggest a broader pattern of protecting influential figures whose names appear in the Epstein materials. They say their inquiry will seek internal emails, redaction logs, and decision memos from the DOJ to determine who decided which Epstein files involving Trump and the minor accuser were excluded and why, as per Forbes.
