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Bipartisan choler implicit the U.S. Department of Justice’s dilatory release of Jeffrey Epstein documents grew connected Monday (December 22, 2025) arsenic lawmakers threatened to motorboat an effort to clasp Attorney General Pam Bondi successful contempt of Congress and erstwhile President Bill Clinton sought the contiguous merchandise of any documents involving him.
“The DOJ needs to discontinue protecting the rich, powerful, and politically connected,” Representative Thomas Massie, a maverick blimpish Republican from Kentucky, said successful a posting connected X.
The Justice Department released thousands of documents connected Friday related to Epstein, a convicted enactment offender who committed termination successful 2019. The saga implicit the Epstein files, which has been dragging connected for years, has caused a rift wrong the Republican Party, with MAGA supporters, who marque up President Donald Trump’s halfway voters, clamouring for afloat disclosure of Epstein documents.
Mr. Trump has astatine times called the occurrence a Democratic “hoax,” but has besides signed into instrumentality a measure requiring the afloat disclosure.
At a property league connected Monday that was chiefly devoted to medication announcements connected the gathering of caller U.S. Navy ships, Mr. Trump was asked astir the Epstein files and pictures that perchance represent erstwhile President Bill Clinton successful the files being released.
“I don’t similar pictures of Bill Clinton being shown. I don’t similar pictures of others being shown, it’s a unspeakable thing,” Mr. Trump said.
“A batch of Republicans are aggravated due to the fact that of the information that it’s conscionable utilized to deflect against a tremendous success” by the administration, Mr. Trump said.
Release each material: Bill Clinton
Earlier connected Monday, Clinton spokesperson Angel Urena issued a connection urging Ms. Bondi to instantly merchandise immoderate remaining materials successful the Epstein lawsuit that notation to Mr. Clinton successful immoderate way, including photographs. “Someone oregon thing is being protected. We bash not cognize whom, what oregon why. But we bash cognize this,” Ms. Urena said, adding, “We request no specified protection.”
Ms. Urena said determination is “widespread suspicion” the Justice Department is “using selective releases to connote wrongdoing astir individuals who person already been repeatedly cleared by the precise aforesaid Department of Justice.” He did not item who other harbored that suspicion.
Massie and wide Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California said they are moving together, on with different unnamed lawmakers, connected an effort to dislodge documents surrounding investigations of Epstein.
The 2 lawmakers said successful an interrogation on MS Now that if indispensable they would question contempt of Congress charges successful the House of Representatives for Bondi adjacent month. They said that if their demands were not met pursuing a “30-day grace period,” they would enactment to person Congress question fines of up to $5,000 per time until the documents are dispatched.
Also connected Monday, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer introduced authorities that would instruct Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, to undertake “appropriate” ineligible steps to summation legislature entree to each the documents covered by authorities passed by Congress and signed into instrumentality by Trump. It was not wide whether his effort mightiness beforehand successful the Senate erstwhile it returns connected January 5 from a vacation recess.
Thune’s bureau did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.
Justice Department spokesperson Chad Gilmartin said the bureau “will proceed to merchandise thousands of pages of material, and nary redactions volition beryllium made to support immoderate celebrated oregon politically delicate people.” The Justice Department on Friday and Saturday sent to Congress 2 batches of Epstein documents, which failed to soundlessness critics’ attacks connected however the effort was being handled.
The bureau failed to conscionable its deadline of past Friday for complying with a “transparency” instrumentality requiring wide merchandise of remaining Epstein files.
On Monday, a radical identifying itself arsenic survivors of maltreatment by Epstein complained successful a connection that the nationalist truthful acold has received “a fraction of the files” and that those were “riddled with abnormal and utmost redactions with nary explanation.” They added that immoderate unfortunate identities were near unredacted.
The Justice Department has said it is moving to wide much documents for merchandise to Congress.
Watch: Victims, lawmakers knock partial merchandise of Epstein files
