WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a new letter sent to the Department of Justice (DOJ) today, the Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF) condemns the agency for hiding the Epstein files despite a series of FOIA requests and a lawsuit the organization has filed seeking their public release. The letter also urges the DOJ to release the Trump-Epstein files immediately.

After the release of new emails by Congress today, the need for transparency around the Epstein files is greater than ever. In one email made public today, Epstein claimed that Trump “knew about the girls,” many of whom were later found by investigators to have been underage. The American people deserve to know what else the President was aware of and involved in.

DDF has been requesting records related to the investigations of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in a series of FOIA requests since July, when it specifically requested documents that mention President Trump and his Mar-a-Lago residence. The organization has filed subsequent FOIA requests related to the DOJ’s handling of references to Donald Trump or Mar-a-Lago in the files and the abrupt transfer of Maxwell to a minimum security prison camp, following her meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“Today's release of materials from the Epstein estate makes it all the more outrageous that the DOJ has not released the Trump-Epstein files to which we are legally entitled. After this latest bombshell, it is even more clear that there is an active effort to hide evidence of Trump’s shocking connections to Epstein from the public,” said Amb. Norm Eisen (ret.), executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund. “The materials we have demanded must be released immediately and in their entirety. Each day that goes by is a betrayal of the victims, who have already suffered so much, and the public, who deserve the truth.”

In August, DDF filed a lawsuit challenging the DOJ’s refusal to release the records. The lawsuit asks the court to order the government to produce the requested documents, as required by public records laws.

The new letter can be found HERE

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Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.