House Oversight Dem says a small fraction of Epstein files are out, and many were already public

Shortly after the department released the records, Rep. Robert Garcia told CNN: “This is completely in violation of the law.” This is after congress passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority last month a resolution requiring the disclosure of all Epstein files by Friday.

He added: “It is possible that they only got about 10% of what the Department of Justice got.” “And of that 10%, 5% have already been published, and the other 5% are heavily redacted. So we’re getting very little.”

Garcia said he had also been in touch with Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, noting that they agreed they “will likely have to take legal action if the Trump administration continues to drag its feet.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the early hours of Saturday night, the Justice Department released a small number of files that include some court documents, photos and memos.

Earlier, she said on Channel X that she had not redacted any names of politicians, referring to comments by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“The only redactions that are applied to documents are those required by law — full stop,” he said. “In line with applicable law and laws, we do not edit the names of individuals or politicians unless they are victims.”

A spokesperson for Garcia did not immediately respond to a request for an update on what percentage of files have been made public so far.

In addition to withholding the files, the Justice Department also appears to have removed a photo with President Donald Trump that was posted on Friday.

This contrasts with White House officials highlighting photos of former President Bill Clinton in the document repository.

Meanwhile, members of Congress who led the effort to release the Epstein files also warned of potential legal action due to the Justice Department’s continued failure to release all the documents.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., noted that the Epstein Files Transparency Act directs the Justice Department to provide internal communications about its decisions, then shared part of the Justice Department’s letter to Congress asserting its prerogative to delete that material.

“They flaunt the law,” he posted on X on Saturday.

In a separate post on Friday, Massie highlighted the criminal statute of obstruction of justice along with language in the Epstein Files Transparency Act that prohibits redacting records based on “embarrassment, repeated harm, or political sensitivity.”

“A future Department of Justice could indict the current Attorney General and others because the Epstein Files Transparency Act is not like a congressional subpoena that expires at the end of each Congress,” he warned.

Also on Friday, Rep. Ro Khanna said the Department of Justice had not complied with the spirit or letter of the law.

The California Democrat added that he and Massie have already begun working on drafting articles of impeachment and contempt against Attorney General Pam Bondi, though they have not yet decided whether to move forward.

“Impeachment is a political decision, and is there support in the House? I mean, Massie and I are not going to do anything to show that,” Khanna told CNN.