There are some who feel that President Donald Trump will be remembered for restoring the former glory of the United States. Whereas to others, the president’s alleged connections with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will continue to shadow his legacy.
Claims have been made that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has withheld documents that connect Trump to Epstein’s illegal activities, which include the abuse of minors. The DOJ took to social media to respond to these claims. The department’s response comes on the heels of Congressional Democrats announcing that they would be opening a new investigation into the matter.
CONFIRMED: NPR now confirms that Trump-related files are missing from the DOJ’s Epstein release.
MSNBC Senior Legal Reporter Lisa Rubin explains the gaps.
So let’s be clear:
The files weren’t “lost.”
They weren’t “overlooked.”
They were kept out.
And the name missing is… pic.twitter.com/kCgZPyRN8f
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) February 24, 2026
The fresh accusation stems from reports of the DOJ only partially releasing interviews with a woman who accused Trump and Epstein of assaulting her when she was a minor. According to a report from the The Wall Street Journal, the DOJ released only one of four interviews with the woman. only one of four interviews with the woman was released.
The department currently stands accused of severe mishandling of the Epstein files. A DOJ spokesperson released a statement in response to these accusations, stating, “Should any document be found to have been improperly tagged in the review process and is responsive to the act, the Department will, of course, publish it, consistent with the law.”
The act in question here is The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which passed in November 2025. The law required the DOJ to release the Epstein files in a searchable and downloadable format.
However, it also laid out the framework of when and how the DOJ may withhold documents. Documents could be withheld if they were duplicates, were part of attorney client-privilege, could harm an ongoing investigation or were completely unrelated to the cases brought against Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Compare
Language of Epstein Files Transparency Act directing DOJ to provide internal communications regarding their decisions
Versus
DOJ letter to Congress asserting privilege to omit materials related to decisions, because they weren’t specified by law
THEY ARE FLAUNTING LAW pic.twitter.com/O8ydW5XOnq
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) December 20, 2025
Trump has said time and again that he did not participate in any wrongdoing with Epstein. He has also resorted to calling the issue a “Democratic hoax.” The president claimed that he cut off all contact with Epstein in the mid-2000s.
Representative Robert Garcia released a statement claiming that the DOJ had conspired to protect the president from accusations. He said, “Yesterday, I reviewed unredacted evidence logs at the Department of Justice. Oversight Democrats can confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews with this survivor who accused President Trump of heinous crimes.”
The DOJ, on the other hand, accused Democrats of making misleading claims, saying, “ALL responsive documents have been produced unless a document falls within one of the following categories: duplicates, privileged or part of an ongoing federal investigation.”
