Representative Robert Garcia is calling out Attorney General Pam Bondi, arguing that the Department of Justice can’t use a last-minute legal loophole to hold back the complete, un-redacted Jeffrey Epstein files from Congress. According to The Hill, Garcia, who serves as the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, wrote a letter to Bondi on Friday insisting that the DOJ must comply with the committee’s subpoena, regardless of any new investigations the administration might launch.
If you’re keeping track of the legislative side, Congress just passed a new bill demanding the DOJ release these documents to lawmakers. This bill had nearly unanimous support, with only one member of the House voting against it, and it requires the documents to be released within 30 days.
Here’s where things get messy and frankly, concerning. Even though that bill passed, it includes a provision that allows the DOJ to withhold information if it’s deemed relevant to “ongoing investigations.” This is awful news for transparency. At the direction of President Trump, Bondi recently launched a probe specifically into Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Democrats.
This move seems perfectly timed to exploit the provision and potentially shield certain information from public view
Garcia isn’t having it, though. He stated his concern that President Trump will try, “on dubious legal grounds, to exploit a provision which allows DOJ to withhold information relevant to ongoing investigations.”
Garcia stressed that their subpoena demands everything, writing, “I write to remind you that the subpoena issued by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform requires you to release the complete, un-redacted Epstein files to the Committee, including classified information and material relevant to ongoing investigations, while protecting the identity of survivors and potential victims.” He made it crystal clear that “Any additional federal investigations launched by the DOJ or the President do not impact our subpoena.”
This fight over the remaining files is huge because the documents released so far have already dropped some massive bombs. Just last week, Garcia himself released emails showing Epstein discussing President Trump. In those emails, Epstein stated that the president “knew about the girls.” That is an incredibly damning piece of evidence, and I think it shows exactly why the administration is fighting so hard to control what comes out next.
We’ve also already seen the notorious birthday note President Trump allegedly wrote to Epstein back in 2003. In that note, he claimed the two share a “wonderful secret” and “have certain things in common.” President Trump has denied writing the message, and he even sued The Wall Street Journal after they first reported on it.
However, House Oversight Democrats compared the signature on that image to other documents signed by President Trump, and they argue there’s little doubt it’s authentic.
Published: Nov 21, 2025 02:00 pm