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Jayapal leads 5-step push for full Epstein file access
She along with senior democrats allege the DOJ is violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act and blocking meaningful congressional oversight.
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Malvika Choudhary - Tue, 24, Mar 2026
- 12:03 EDT
- 15
Pramila Jayapal / X/@Pramila Jayapal
U.S Representative Pramila Jayapal and senior House Democrats have launched a five-step push demanding full congressional access to unredacted l Jeffrey Epstein files.
In a March 19, letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Jayapal, along with Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, demanded that the Department of Justice overhaul its review process and comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
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“Under your leadership, the Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to cover up for Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s co-conspirators and enablers,” the lawmakers wrote.
“You are clearly violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) and obstructing Congress’s oversight of your production of the Epstein files. It is now time for a complete reset and a new process aimed at complying with this law, instead of thwarting it, and providing survivors and the American people with the transparency, accountability, and justice to which we are all entitled,” they added.
The lawmakers said the DOJ was required under the law to release all records related to Epstein, with only narrow exceptions for survivors’ identities, classified information and active investigations. Instead, they said the department has withheld roughly three million pages of documents and redacted hundreds of thousands more using privileges Congress rejected in the law.
They also said journalists, survivors and members of the public have identified documents that appear to have been improperly withheld or redacted. Survivors reviewing the files reported that FBI witness interview records, known as FD-302s, including documents describing allegations against Epstein’s co-conspirators, appear to be missing from the released material.
The lawmakers said the DOJ’s current review process makes meaningful oversight “impossible.” Members are limited to reviewing documents on four DOJ computers at a satellite office during business hours, a pace they said would take more than seven years to review even the available files.
They further alleged that the department has restricted oversight by prohibiting members from taking notes on their own materials, barring congressional staff from assisting with the review, and monitoring lawmakers’ searches and activities.
As part of the five-step push, the lawmakers demanded full access to all Epstein files, fully unredacted records, secure review access on Capitol grounds, permission for designated congressional staff to assist, and an end to monitoring of members’ searches or notes.
The demand comes amid broader political and legal scrutiny over the DOJ’s handling of Epstein-related disclosures. The Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed with near-unanimous bipartisan support in November 2025, required the department to release all relevant records within 30 days, with limited exceptions to protect victims and ongoing investigations.
While the DOJ has released more than three million pages of documents in multiple tranches, lawmakers, journalists, and victims’ advocates have raised concerns over delays, redactions, and missing material.
They have asked the DOJ to confirm by March 26, whether it will adopt these reforms and comply with the transparency requirements enacted into law.
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