Democrats in the House of Representatives on Wednesday accused Donald Trump's administration of covering up information in files linked to Jeffrey Epstein, following revelations about FBI interviews that do not appear in public records and that are related to the complaint of a woman who claims to have been sexually assaulted by Trump when she was a minor. The Department of Justice assured that it is reviewing the documents and denied having acted improperly.

First modification: 02/26/2026 - 10:19 Last modification: 02/26/2026 - 10:39

The “largest government cover-up in modern history” by Donald Trump's government, Democrats denounced on Wednesday.

Reports from public radio NPR indicate that the Administration withheld documents that would implicate the Republican leader in the sexual abuse of a minor. The complaint against Trump was filed in 2019.

"This is the largest government cover-up in modern history. We demand answers," Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said in a statement posted on social media.

Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and maintains that the Justice Department's release of the so-called "Epstein Files" exonerated him.

Three key FBI interviews missing

Shortly after Epstein's arrest on federal sex trafficking charges, a woman in July 2019 came forward with the complaint involving Trump.

In the published files there are later internal references indicating that she alleged that Epstein introduced her to Trump and that he had assaulted her in the mid-1980s, when she was between 13 and 15 years old.

A 2025 FBI document available in the public database echoes that claim, but does not include an assessment of its credibility.

Detailed memos from the follow-up interviews — conducted in August and October 2019, according to the indexes — are not among the published documents.

The irregularity in the documents is evidenced by the fact that, of the four interviews that the FBI conducted with the complainant—according to the indexes and serial numbers associated with the investigative material on Epstein's trafficking network—only one of the summaries, focused mainly on the accusations against Epstein, appears in the public database.

The other three summaries and their corresponding notes, which total more than 50 pages, are not available on the Justice Department's website, according to NPR's review of document numbering.

Other outlets, such as The New York Times and cable network MS NOW, reported similar findings.

Robert Garcia, top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said he reviewed unredacted evidence records at the Justice Department and came to the same conclusion.

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“Democrats on the Oversight Committee can confirm that the Department of Justice appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews with this survivor,” Garcia stated, adding that Democrats will open a parallel investigation and demand that the missing documents be turned over to Congress.

Justice is reviewing files

The Justice Department, which initially denied any wrongdoing, said it is reviewing its files on Epstein to determine if any were handled "inappropriately."

Under a transparency law passed last year, the department has released millions of pages of documents linked to notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement, the Department of Justice also referred to what some media have indicated as the absence of files related to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's accomplice, among the disclosed records.

“As with all documents pointed out by the public, the Department is currently reviewing the files within that production category,” he noted on the X social network.

“If it is determined that any document was improperly labeled during the review process and is relevant under the law, the Department will release it, as required by law,” he added, referring to the bipartisan bill passed last year that ordered the Trump administration to release all files on Epstein.

The Department further maintains that any unpublished materials fall within categories permitted by law, such as duplicates, documents protected by legal privilege, or records tied to an ongoing federal investigation.

Consulted by AFP, the Department of Justice referred to a response published on social networks in which it denied having deleted files and indicated that documents temporarily removed to carry out deletions aimed at protecting victims or eliminating personally identifiable information will be restored.

However, Democrats' argument is that the missing interview records do not fit into the categories cited by the department.

With AFP and local media

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