Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to force a vote on a measure to allow the chamber to jump-start litigation against the Trump administration for failing to comply with the new law requiring the full release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
“The law Congress passed is crystal clear: release the Epstein files in full so Americans can see the truth,” the New York Democrat said in a statement Monday. “Instead, the Trump Department of Justice dumped redactions and withheld the evidence — that breaks the law. Today, I am introducing a resolution to force the Senate to take legal action and compel this administration to comply.”
The resolution would establish “authority to initiate litigation for actions by the President and Department of Justice officials inconsistent with their duties under the laws of the United States.”
It’s unlikely that enough Republicans would join Democrats in supporting the measure, but Schumer intends to put his colleagues on the spot in January, bringing the resolution to the floor when the Senate reconvenes after the holiday recess.
It follows Friday’s long-awaited rollout of materials from the Justice Department in its case against the late, convicted sex offender. That day, Dec. 19, marked the legislation’s deadline for public disclosure — but DOJ has said it would instead slowly release materials over the course of weeks, sparking bipartisan outrage.
The White House on Monday pointed to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s recent interview with NBC News, in which he claimed his department was doing everything in its power to comply with the law.
Asked about potential threats about impeachment proceedings, contempt or criminal referrals, Blanche responded: “Bring it on.”
The White House referred further comment to the Justice Department. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Congress passed legislation last month granting the Justice Department 30 days to publicly release its materials. The bill provided few exceptions for when files could obtain redactions — primarily in instances where DOJ wanted to protect the identities of Epstein’s victims.
The White House and congressional GOP leadership had led a long campaign to thwart passage the bill. However, it ultimately advanced unanimously in the Senate and with only one nay vote in the House: Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.), who argued it could jeopardize the privacy of Epstein’s victims and others.
After an initial dump of materials Friday and Saturday, Democrats were quick to blast the administration for failing to release the Epstein files in full and accused the administration of unlawfully redacting information.
Relatively little new information was included in the batches of materials that have been released so far.
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) — who championed the legislation and led the effort to force a floor vote in the House to release the files — suggested they would urge the House to invoke its long-dormant power to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi in inherent contempt of Congress for her agency’s failure to comply with the law.
On Monday, Khanna posted on X that he, Massie and Epstein’s accusers are eager to see the draft indictment, interviews in which witnesses name other men who might have perpetuated sex crimes, emails from Epstein’s computer and the Epstein prosecution memo.
