Scoop: Democrats probe whether Trump is in the Epstein files
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Attorney General Pam Bondi and President Trump at a roundtable at the White House on June 5. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
House Democrats are asking the Department of Justice and FBI whether it is true, as Elon Musk now claims, that President Trump is in the Epstein files, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: It's the starkest example to date of how the highly public feud between the president and his onetime lieutenant is playing right into the hands of the Trump's political opponents.
- Trump "is in the Epstein files," Musk wrote Thursday in a post on X, adding, "That is the real reason they have not been made public."
- The Tesla CEO also called for Trump to be impeached, a position that even many Democrats are reluctant to take.
Driving the news: In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel first obtained by Axios, Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) asked that they "immediately clarify whether this allegation is true."
- The lawmakers asked for a timeline of the DOJ's declassification and publication of the Epstein files, an explanation for why they haven't turned over any new documents since February.
- And they requested a description of Trump's role in reviewing the files, a list of personnel involved in their release and an answer for why files previously released to Congress contained "significant redactions."
- Lynch is the acting ranking member of the House Oversight Committee and Garcia is the top Democrat on the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets.
The other side: "Oversight Democrats are engaged in another baseless stunt that bears no weight in fact or reality," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement to Axios.
- "These are the same left-wing lunatics who neglected their oversight duties regarding the Biden administration's lawless actions and concocted hoax after hoax on President Trump during his first term. No one takes them or their petty letters seriously."
- The FBI declined to comment on the matter. The DOJ did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment on Thursday evening.
State of play: Bondi released more than 100 pages of documents related to the Epstein case in February as part of a Trump administration push to provide more transparency into a wide array of high-profile cases.
- The files were substantially redacted, however, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), the chair of the declassification task force, has accused Bondi of "stonewalling" her demands for more files.
- "We agree with their conclusion that the release of these documents is long overdue," Lynch and Garcia wrote.
What they're saying: Musk's allegation "implies that the President may be involved in determining which files should be released and whether files will be withheld from the public if he personally chooses," the two Democrats wrote.
- They noted that Trump and Epstein's relationship has been well-documented.
- "Any attempts to prevent the appropriate release of the Epstein files to shield the President from truth and accountability merits intense scrutiny by Congress and by the Department of Justice," they added.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from White House spokesperson Harrison Fields and to note that the FBI declined to comment.
