GOP Senators Anxious Trump DOJ Won’t Release All of the Epstein Files: ‘Add Fuel to the Fire’
Senate Republicans voiced their concern this week that Trump’s Justice Department will not fully release the Epstein Files in accordance with the bill that passed both chambers of Congress this week and was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Wednesday night.
The Hill’s Alexander Bolton spoke to several Senate Republicans about their concerns. He reported that Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) warned that “people who feel very strongly about this will feel like they’ve been duped” if Attorney General Pam Bondi claims “we can’t release anything because we have an active investigation.”
“I don’t think that that will help calm the suspicions many have harbored for a long while on this. I think it’s not only congressional intent, it’s overwhelming. When was the last time you saw a vote like that in the House?” added Murkowski – referring to the near-unanimous vote in the House.
Bondi signaled on Wednesday that her new investigation, reopened at the public urging of Trump, could delay the release of the full files. She told reporters during a presser that “new information” had been uncovered, which is fueling the DOJ’s probe into Democrats, which Trump demanded.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) made clear he does not think the public will buy Bondi delaying the release in order to protect her investigation. “You can adjust for whatever investigations are going on, but if you do a blanket hold, I think that they’re going to have a lot of people angry,” Tillis told Bolton, adding:
I think they would do well to figure how to release as much as possible and then have a very well-articulated reason for that which they can’t. It would add fuel to the fire if they don’t produce something meaningful.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), who previously warned that the Trump-Epstein scandal is not going away, urged the DOJ not to delay on the release.
“Obviously, it would be a mistake, because Congress has spoken. I fully expect the Justice Department to release all the documents. It will take a while, but I believe they’ve started on it right now,” he said.
“I’m hoping we’ll see the first tranche after Thanksgiving,” Kennedy said optimistically.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) added that “all the credible information that can be released should be released.”
Bolton noted that concerns among Republicans pale in comparison to Senate Democrats, who warn the fix is already in.
“This is Pam Bondi. She works for Trump. This is all a setup. Trump fought to the end to resist release. He lost. Do I believe he’s had a real conversion? No. He anticipated the outcome and then ordered Bondi to begin other investigations, so we’ll be seeing the Justice Department withholding information because it might interfere with ongoing investigations,” said Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT).
“The concealment will continue,” Welch insisted.
