In a social media post on Tuesday titled: Rep. Summer Lee (D-12) announced that she would introduce articles of impeachment against the U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi over Epstein’s files.
“The Department of Justice’s refusal to comply with our subpoena and follow the law has gone on for too long,” Lee wrote. “I will be introducing articles of impeachment against Pam Bondi. It’s time to stop allowing institutions and our government to continue to protect the rich and powerful.”
Lee is the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee on Federal Law Enforcement. Last month she introduced an amendment to treat Bondi in civil contempt for failing to comply with the commission’s request for the full, unredacted Epstein files.
Then came her comments an NPR investigation that found the Justice Department withheld some of Jeffrey Epstein’s files in connection with the allegations that President Donald Trump sexually abused a minor. The Justice Department also apparently removed from its public database some documents in which the allegations against Jeffrey Epstein also mention Trump.
The Justice Department declined to answer NPR’s questions about these specific files, their contents and why they were not released.
Representative Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, issued a statement after NPR’s story was made public, noting that the Justice Department’s actions were a violation of both the Oversight Committee subpoena and the Epstein Records Transparency Act.
“For the past several weeks, Oversight Democrats have been examining the FBI’s handling of 2019 allegations of sexual assault of a minor brought against President Donald Trump by a survivor,” Garcia wrote.
“Yesterday, I reviewed unredacted evidence records at the Department of Justice. Oversight Democrats can confirm that the Department of Justice appears to have unlawfully withheld FBI interviews with a survivor who accused President Trump of heinous crimes. Oversight Democrats will launch a parallel investigation into this matter.”
Pursuant to the Oversight Committee’s subpoena and the Epstein Records Transparency Act, these records must be immediately made available to Congress and the American public. “Withholding direct evidence of a potential attack by the President of the United States is the most serious crime possible in this White House cover-up.”
The Department of Justice responded to the Oversight Committee in a social media post, stating that Democrats were simply inciting public opinion in an attempt to “spark outrage.”
“The Department of Justice has repeatedly told NPR publicly AND directly before the deadline – NOTHING has been removed. If files are temporarily downloaded to redact victims or redact identifying information, then these documents will be immediately restored online and will be publicly available. ALL relevant documents have been produced, unless the document falls into one of the following categories: duplicate, privileged, or part of an ongoing federal investigation.”
