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Whitehouse Questions How Susie Wiles Accessed Epstein Files After Vanity Fair Interview

Sen. Whitehouse question how White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles accessed and reviewed Epstein files after Vanity Fair profile.

By Tracey Ashlee
Senate Democrats including Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse are demanding answers from White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles about how she accessed and reviewed federal records tied to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, citing remarks she made in a Vanity Fair profile earlier this month. The senators acted quickly and decisively by taking concrete steps to establish the facts, per Common Dreams. In letters sent Dec. 22, Whitehouse and Sen. Dick Durbin outlined a series of detailed questions for Wiles, focusing on her exposure to what she called “the Epstein file” and her role,  if any,  in the review, redaction, withholding, or release of those materials. The senators noted that a Vanity Fair interview with Wiles published earlier this month included comments suggesting she had personally read the consolidated Epstein records, a collection of Department of Justice documents compiled during federal investigation of the late financier. In the interview, via International Business Times UK, Wiles said she read what she described as the Epstein file and acknowledged that President Donald Trump’s name appeared in it. In that profile, Wiles gave her opinion on the dossier, saying, “[Trump] is in the file. And we know he’s in the file. And he’s not in the file doing anything awful.” She described the association in early years as social rather than criminal, noting that Trump “was on [Epstein’s] plane… he’s on the manifest.” The Vanity Fair article proved not only to be a source of entertainment for its readers, but Congress sat up and took note of the details that even they weren't privy to. The senators then took steps to get as clued up as she seemed to be! Whitehouse and Durbin’s letter asks Wiles to clarify when she first accessed the Epstein files, under what authority, and whether any of the materials she reviewed had been presented to a grand jury. They also requested a description of her involvement in any processes related to the files’ redaction, withholding, or release — including interactions with the Department of Justice or FBI. “Please be kind enough to explain when and where and under what authority you gained access to this material,” the senators wrote. They even added that they expect Wiles’ detailed responses by Jan. 5, 2026, a fixed deadline that she would need to act on. The demand for clarity comes amid scrutiny around the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a federal law signed in November 2025 requiring the Department of Justice to make public the full set of investigative documents related to Epstein’s trafficking case. But even this deadline seems to be mutable since the DOJ has only partially complied with so far. Wiles’ candid remarks about the files have stirred political controversy across the U.S. political landscape. She also criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s earlier handling of the Epstein files and tied some of the public confusion about their contents to internal disagreements within the administration. At the same time, the broader dispute over how and when the Epstein files have been released, and who within the federal government had access to them, has become a point of contention at the start of 2026. Begging the question of who really has been redacting the files at will.

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