Congressional Republicans Investigate Missing Files
Republicans of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have announced they will join the broader congressional scrutiny into alleged gaps in the release of federal records tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with a specific focus on documents involving former President Donald Trump that appear to be missing from the public record. “Records released last month show the FBI interviewed the woman four times, but only one of those interviews has been published in the Justice Department’s public Epstein files database,” according to NPR News.
“Dozens of FBI witness interviews from the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein appear to be missing from the massive trove of files released by the Department of Justice last month, according to a CNN review – including three interviews related to a woman who accused President Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her decades ago,” according to CNN News.
The move comes after investigative reporting by NPR and other media outlets found that certain FBI interview notes and internal Justice Department outline documents, including interviews with a woman who alleged sexual misconduct involving Trump and Epstein decades earlier, were not included in the massive set of files the Department of Justice (DOJ) published in January 2026 under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Those reports indicated the FBI had conducted four interviews with the accuser, but only one of those interviews and a limited summary were made public.
Republicans on the oversight committee, led by Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), say they want to get definitive answers from the DOJ about why the records were excluded and whether the department is complying with its legal obligations. Comer acknowledged that the committee is investigating the matter, saying lawmakers are seeking clarity on the NPR reporting and the department’s explanations, which thus far have been that undisclosed records are withheld because they are “privileged, duplicates, or part of an ongoing factual investigation.”
Courtesy of Jonathan (Flickr CC0)The development marks a rare situation in which Republicans and Democrats are pushing a transparency review involving allegations tied to a Republican former president, even while Democratic members of the same committee are separately demanding accountability for the handling of the Epstein files. Democrats, particularly Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), have already issued letters to Attorney General Pam Bondi questioning the omissions and asking whether the department has improperly withheld interviews and notes that could be responsive to the Epstein transparency law.
The DOJ has acknowledged ongoing reviews of flagged records and said that if documents were “improperly tagged” or excluded in error, they would be published in accordance with the law.
Sources:
CNN News: Dozens of FBI records apparently missing from Epstein files, including Trump accuser interviews
NPR News: Congressional Republicans will also investigate missing Epstein files related to Trump
Featured Image Courtesy of House Agriculture Committee’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Jonathan’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
