WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Wednesday it is examining whether certain records tied to the Jeffrey Epstein case were improperly withheld after multiple news organizations reported that some documents — including ones referencing unverified allegations against President Donald Trump — were not included in a recent public release.
The review comes after reports that a large batch of records made public by the department omitted several summaries of FBI interviews with an unidentified woman who came forward following Epstein’s 2019 arrest. The woman alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by both Trump and Epstein as a minor during the 1980s.
In a post on X, the Justice Department said that “several individuals and news outlets” had raised concerns about materials connected to documents produced to Ghislaine Maxwell during discovery in her criminal case that appear to be missing. “As with all documents flagged by the public, the Department is reviewing files within that category of the production,” the statement said. Maxwell, a longtime associate of Epstein, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.
The department added that if any document is determined to have been wrongly withheld and falls under the federal law requiring the release of Epstein-related files, it will be published in accordance with the law.
The focus of the concern centers on interviews reportedly conducted in 2019 with a woman who accused Trump. Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. According to recent reporting, the FBI interviewed the accuser four times while assessing her claims, yet only a summary of one interview appeared in the released files.
The absence of the additional records was first reported by journalist Roger Sollenberger on Substack and by NPR, and later confirmed by other outlets including The New York Times, MS Now and CNN.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the leading Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Democrats on the panel would examine the matter. In a statement, he said he had reviewed unredacted evidence logs and “can confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews” with the accuser.
Last month, the Justice Department announced the release of more than 3 million pages of documents related to Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. At the time, officials said they aimed to promote transparency but retained the authority to withhold records that could expose alleged victims, duplicate materials, privileged information, or documents tied to ongoing investigations.
In a statement accompanying that release, the department noted that some files contained “untrue and sensationalist claims” against Trump that had been submitted to the FBI shortly before the 2020 election. It said the allegations were unfounded and false and suggested that credible claims would have already been used against him politically.
The document release process has since faced criticism. The department withdrew certain materials after it was revealed that some victims and their attorneys had been identified through flawed redactions. Officials also acknowledged pulling back a “substantial number” of documents flagged independently by the government.
Earlier this month, lawyers representing Epstein accusers told a New York judge that nearly 100 victims had been affected by what they described as careless redactions in the latest disclosure. Among the materials made public were nude photographs showing faces of potential victims, along with names, email addresses and other personal details that were insufficiently obscured.
The recently released records also included other unverified allegations involving Trump and additional public figures. In its latest statement, the Justice Department did not explain why documents related to this particular accusation may have been excluded.
