'The Law Must Be Enforced': Epstein Survivors Speak Out Against Trump DOJ Cover-Up and Delay

Some victims of late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are slamming the Trump administration for continuing to delay the full release of files related to the federal case.

In a statement released Monday, the Epstein survivors called out the US Department of Justice (DOJ) for releasing only "a fraction of the files" demanded by law, adding that many of the files released so far have been "riddled with abnormal and extreme redactions with no explanation."

The survivors noted that the DOJ's actions appear to violate a law passed by US Congress and signed by President Donald Trump last month mandating the department release "all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in DOJ's possession that relate to the investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein" by December 19.

"Grand jury minutes, though approved by a federal judge for release, were fully blacked out," they said, "not the scattered redactions that might be expected to protect victim names, but 119 full pages blacked out. We are told that there are hundreds of thousands of pages of documents still unreleased. These are clear-cut violations of an unambiguous law."

The survivors also said that the DOJ had left them completely in the dark about the release of the files, claiming that "there has been no communication with survivors or our representatives as to what was withheld from release, or why hundreds of thousands of documents have not been disclosed by the legal deadline, or how DOJ will ensure that no more victim names are wrongly disclosed."

They then demanded that members of Congress, nearly all of whom voted in favor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, engage in vigorous oversight of the DOJ's actions, "including hearings, formal demands for compliance, and legal action" to force the department to follow the law.

"Survivors deserve truth," they concluded. "Survivors whose identities are private deserve protection. The public deserves accountability. And the law must be enforced."

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) applauded the survivors for speaking up in the face of the Trump DOJ's disregard of the law.

"This statement from 18 Epstein survivors is spot on," she wrote in a social media post. "The Trump administration is failing to follow the law by not releasing countless files and failing to redact the identities of survivors. This is not justice."

Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), the two lawmakers who led efforts to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act this year, said on Sunday that they are looking into potentially holding US Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt for her department's failure to release the Epstein files.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Khanna explained that holding Bondi in contempt would not require any action by the US Senate and would take effect just by passing with a simple majority in the House of Representatives. Khanna said that the House would likely give Bondi a 30-day grace period to comply with the law and would then hit her with fines for every day where the Epstein files remain under wraps.