The U.S. Department of Justice has released thousands more documents related to its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after missing the deadline on Friday to release its entire cache of records as required by law.
The Justice Department says some of the documents include "untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump."
"To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already," the department said.
Among the documents is an email stating that Trump was listed as a passenger on Epstein’s private plane at least eight times between 1993 and 1998. The email’s author and recipients are not known since all identifying information has been redacted. The Justice Department has not said whether the claims in the email were verified.
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Another document includes a subpoena from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. It seeks testimony and evidence in the 2021 sex trafficking case against Epstein’s longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell was convicted that year and is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence.
All of the files were supposed to be released on Friday under the law. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has said that the delay is due to the department's review of documents to ensure victims are protected.
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However, the Justice Department has been criticized for redacting too much information. Under the law, reactions were only to be made under a narrow set of circumstances, like protecting vicitms and national security.
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, which is conducting its own investigation into the Epstein case, called the release a “criminal White House cover-up.”
"We need answers from the President about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and why his DOJ continues to defy the law and hide documents," Garcia said on Tuesday. "They appear to be protecting powerful men who raped and abused women and girls."
He added, "Who are Epstein’s co-conspirators? Why are they making illegal redactions? We will get answers and justice for the survivors."
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Some lawmakers are threatening to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt for failing to meet a congressional deadline to release all the files.
