DOJ withheld Epstein files with abuse allegations against Trump

THE US Department of Jus­tice has withheld Epstein files containing allegations that US President Donald Trump sexually abused a minor and also removed other related docume­nts from a public database, according to a report by the US National Public Radio (NPR).

According to the report, dozens of pages catalogued by the DOJ, including what appear to be over 50 pages of FBI interviews and notes with a woman who accused Trump of sexually abusing her as a minor decades ago, have not been made public as mandated by law.

The DOJ declined to answer NPR’s specific questions on the record but said that any unpublished documents are privileged, are duplicates, or pertain to an ongoing federal investigation.

Following the report, the top Democrat on the House Over­sight Committee said his staff had confirmed the discrepancy.

“Oversight Democrats can confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews with this survivor who accused President Trump of heinous crimes,” Rep. Rob­ert Garcia said in a statement. Garcia announced a parallel investigation into the DOJ’s handling of the documents.

When asked for comment, a White House spokeswoman told NPR that Trump has been “totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein” and has “done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before him” by releasing documents and cooperating with Congress.

One of the allegations made in the internal FBI documents is about a woman who said that when she was 13, around 1983, Epstein introduced her to Trump. She said that Trump assaulted her, and when she tried to fight him off, he punched her in the face and kicked her out, according to the report.

While this specific claim appears in an internal FBI list and a slideshow, NPR found that associated FBI interviews with the accuser appear to be missing from the public files. A review of case logs from the criminal trial of Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, indicates the FBI interviewed this woman four times.

However, only the first interview, which does not name Trump, is in the public database. In that interview, the woman’s attorney said a photo of Epstein she provided was cropped because she feared “implicating additional individuals, and specifically any that were well known, due to fear of retaliation.” 

“The DOJ was ordered to release information to the public to be transparent about Epstein and Maxwell’s criminal enterprise network. Instead, they relea­sed the names of courageous victims who have fought hard for decades to remain anonymous and out of the limelight.”

A DOJ spokesperson told NPR that the department is working to ad­­dress redaction concerns from victims, saying that because of the volume of information, “sensitive or personally identifiable information may have been inadvertently included.”