Donald Trump claims he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago because he was a “creep” to his female staff.
- Democrats accused the U.S. Department of Justice of hiding documents related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
- They say interviews with a woman who accused US President Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her as a minor have been withheld.
- White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said Trump had been acquitted.
A top Democrat in Congress accused the Justice Department on Wednesday of withholding FBI interviews with a woman who accused U.S. President Donald Trump of sexually abusing her as a minor and withholding public release of documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the senior Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said he had confirmed media reports from National Public Radio and independent journalist Roger Sollenberger that the Justice Department withheld more than 50 pages of material about the woman’s claims from more than three million Epstein-related documents it has released.
The New York Times then published a story.
Reuters has not independently verified the reports.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said Wednesday that Trump had been “completely cleared of anything related to Epstein.”
READ | British police arrest ex-envoy Peter Mandelson in Epstein case
Law enforcement authorities have not accused Trump of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
The Justice Department said it is investigating whether the remaining Epstein-related documents were improperly withheld, and said they would be published if necessary.
The DOJ is conducting the largest cover-up in modern American history. They have lied repeatedly, refuse to release the full files and are now hiding documents pointing to allegations against Donald Trump.
We will not stop until there is justice for the survivors. pic.twitter.com/27hn6eYnYh
— Congressman Robert Garcia (@RepRobertGarcia) February 26, 2026
The department has previously warned that the material it released contains unsubstantiated accusations and sensational claims about Trump.
Trump socialized with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s but has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and says he cut ties before the financier’s 2008 conviction at the request of a minor for prostitution.
Garcia said the withheld material showed the FBI took the woman’s allegations seriously and interviewed the woman four times but released only the first interview, which did not detail her allegations against Trump.
“The fact that the DOJ is withholding documents alleging that President Trump engaged in sexual abuse of a child victim only increases my sincere concerns about a White House cover-up,” Garcia wrote in a letter to the department.
The Justice Department has struggled to process the millions of Epstein-related documents and missed Congress’ one-month timeline for their release.
Under oath, @AGPamBondi stated unequivocally: “There is no evidence that Donald Trump committed a crime.” The Epstein files say otherwise, and she knows it. @RepTedLieu and I wrote a letter calling on the @HetJustitieDept to appoint a special counsel to investigate her for…
– Rep. Dan Goldman (@RepDanGoldman) February 25, 2026
The department says it has withheld material that could compromise the identities of Epstein’s victims or jeopardize ongoing investigations.
According to AFP, the Justice Department said in a statement on Wednesday evening that some media outlets are claiming that files related to Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell are also missing from the documents released to the public.
“As is the case with all documents flagged by the public, the ministry is currently reviewing files within that category of production,” it said on X.
“This is the largest government cover-up in modern history. We demand answers,” Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said in a statement on social media.
The woman at the center of this episode of the Epstein drama first contacted authorities in July 2019, shortly after Epstein’s arrest on federal sex trafficking charges.
(From left) Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Jeffrey Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell pose together at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, on February 12, 2000.
Davidoff Studios/Getty Images
Later internal references in the declassified files describe her as claiming that the disgraced financier introduced her to Trump and that Trump had assaulted her in the mid-1980s, when she was 13 to 15 years old.
A 2025 FBI document in the public database mentions this claim but does not include an assessment of its credibility.
The detailed memos from the follow-up conversations – according to the indexes held in August and October 2019 – are not included.
So far, the documents made public include photos of Trump with several women whose faces have been redacted, and a suggestive note to Epstein framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to bear Trump’s signature, Reuters reported.
Evidence and testimony submitted in the 2021 trial of Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell indicate that Trump traveled on Epstein’s plane multiple times.
This combination of photos shows Ghislaine Maxwell (L) and Jeffrey Epstein (R).
Laura Cavanaugh and Handout/various sources/AFP
Epstein wrote in one email that Trump was “aware of the girls,” although it is not clear what he meant.
Trump denies ever flying on Epstein’s plane and has said the suggestive note was forged.
Epstein died in prison in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges.
His death was ruled a suicide.
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