'Largest government cover-up': DOJ accused of hiding Epstein interviews as Trump claims exoneration

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 18: A person walks by an image of U.S. President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, along with the words "President Trump: Release All the Epstein Files", projected onto the U.S. Chamber of Commerce building on July 18, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

Democrats accuse the Trump administration of a major cover-up after reports that key documents on allegations Trump sexually abused a minor linked to Jeffrey Epstein are missing. The DOJ denies wrongdoing and says it is reviewing the handling of the Epstein files.

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Democrats on Wednesday accused the administration of US President Donald Trump of orchestrating what they described as the “largest government cover-up in modern history,” after reports claimed that federal authorities failed to release key documents linked to allegations that Trump sexually abused a minor.

The allegations surfaced following a review of documents connected to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, whose sex trafficking case has remained under intense public scrutiny. While the United States Department of Justice said it is reviewing its handling of the Epstein files, it rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing.

The Justice Department has released millions of pages of Epstein-related records under a transparency law passed last year. However, public broadcaster NPR reported that several documents tied to a woman’s 2019 assault complaint against Trump appear to be missing.

Trump has repeatedly denied the allegation and has argued that the DOJ’s so-called “Epstein Files” release cleared him of any wrongdoing.

According to NPR, indexes and serial numbers linked to the Epstein investigation show that FBI agents conducted four interviews with the woman who accused Trump and produced summaries and notes for each session. Yet only one interview summary, largely focused on her allegations against Epstein, is publicly available.

The remaining three interview summaries and related notes, totaling more than 50 pages, do not appear in the Justice Department’s online database, NPR said after reviewing the document numbering. Similar discrepancies were reported by The New York Times and US cable network MSNBC.

“This is largest government cover-up in modern history. We are demanding answers,” Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said in a statement posted on social media.

Justice Department response

In a statement released Wednesday evening, the Justice Department acknowledged that some media outlets have claimed files related to Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell are also missing from the public record.

“As with all documents that have been flagged by the public, the Department is currently reviewing files within that category of the production,” the department said in a post on X.

“Should any document be found to have been improperly tagged in the review process and is responsive to the Act, the Department will of course publish it, consistent with the law,” it added, referring to the bipartisan legislation passed last year that mandated the release of Epstein-related files.

Allegations and political fallout

The woman at the centre of the controversy first contacted law enforcement in July 2019, shortly after Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges.

Internal references in the released files describe her as alleging that Epstein introduced her to Trump and that Trump assaulted her in the mid-1980s, when she was between 13 and 15 years old.

A 2025 FBI document available in the public database recounts that claim but does not assess its credibility. The detailed memoranda from follow-up interviews conducted in August and October 2019, as indicated by the indexes, are absent.

Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said he personally reviewed unredacted evidence logs at the Justice Department and reached the same conclusion.

“Oversight Democrats can confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews with this survivor,” Garcia said. He added that Democrats would launch a parallel investigation and formally demand the missing records from the department.

The Justice Department maintains that any material not posted online falls under exemptions permitted by law, including duplicate records, privileged material, or documents linked to an ongoing federal investigation.

Earlier on Wednesday, when asked for comment, the department referred AFP to a social media post denying that any files had been deleted. It said documents temporarily removed to apply victim-related redactions or to remove personally identifiable information would be restored.

Democrats, however, argue that the missing FBI interview records do not meet the exemption criteria cited by the department.