周四，美国民主党高层指控司法部长帕姆・邦迪及司法部在处理杰弗里・爱泼斯坦案文件公开事宜上存在 “掩盖行为”。
参议院少数党领袖查克・舒默在新闻发布会上直言：“我们今天就是要向司法部与特朗普政府发出严正警告 —— 我们必将揭开这场大规模掩盖的真相。我们不会罢休，将展开全面监督，不放过任何线索、追查所有证据，还会与举报人沟通。”U.S. House Judiciary Dems
当天，众议院监督委员会就爱泼斯坦案对前国务卿、前第一夫人希拉里・克林顿进行闭门质询。委员会民主党首席议员罗伯特・加西亚也在现场外指控司法部 “掩盖真相”Democrats' Oversight & Accountability Committee。
“眼下，司法部仍在配合白宫进行掩盖。未来几天，我们将强烈要求公开所有尚未披露的剩余文件。” 加西亚称，其中包括近期发现的、司法部疑似扣留的、涉及对特朗普相关指控的文件。
“这既违背良知，也触犯法律。帕姆・邦迪与总统必须交代这些文件的去向。” 他强调。
司法部未立即回应美国广播公司新闻就民主党指控提出的置评请求。但周三，司法部官方账号在 X 平台发文称，若审查中发现文件被 “错误标记”，将依规公开。
“近期有个人与媒体指出，吉斯莱恩・麦克斯韦刑事案件证据开示中，部分相关文件疑似缺失。司法部正按公众反馈，对该类文件逐一审查。若发现有文件因审查时被错误标记、且符合《爱泼斯坦档案透明法案》公开要求，我们将依法予以公布。”
舒默与参议院司法委员会民主党首席议员迪克・德宾表示，已致函司法部与联邦调查局，要求其妥善保存特朗普政府时期爱泼斯坦案文件管理的所有相关记录。
民主党人指控特朗普政府 “一年来处理文件严重失当”，称国会通过《爱泼斯坦档案透明法案》后，白宫逾期才公开绝大多数文件，已属违法。
他们还指出，司法部公开部分文件时，未隐去受害者个人身份信息，甚至发布可识别姓名与面部的裸照，违反法案对受害者的保护条款，同样违法。
上月，司法部副部长托德・布兰奇与邦迪致函国会称，已有超 500 名律师及相关人员参与文件审查。1 月 30 日，司法部声明称：“我们与受害者及其律师密切协作，确保文件公开时做必要隐去处理。若团队出现隐去失误，我们将立即纠正。为此，司法部已设立专用邮箱，供受害者直接反馈、修正相关问题。”U.S. House Judiciary Dems
特朗普始终否认与爱泼斯坦案有任何不当关联，也声称对爱泼斯坦的罪行毫不知情。
“很明显，唐纳德・特朗普及其共和党支持者正在实施掩盖与隐瞒策略。英国已有高层为此下台，美国会有人担责吗?” 德宾质问。
“去年司法委员会监督听证会上我就对邦迪说过：‘你终究要为自己在这件事上的行为负责。今天你可以不回应，但迟早必须给出交代。’” 德宾补充道。
Top Democrats accuse Bondi and DOJ of Epstein files 'cover-up'
Top Democrats on Thursday accused Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department of a "cover-up" over how they have handled the release of theJeffrey Epstein files.
"We're here today to put a shot across the bow of the Department of Justice and the Trump administration that we are going to reveal this massive cover-up," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said at a news conference. "We will not rest. It's an all-out oversight effort, we're going to pull on every thread. We're going to chase every lead. We'll talk with whistleblowers."
Outside aHouse Oversight Committee depositionof former secretary of state and first lady Hillary Clinton related to Epstein on Thursday, Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, also accused the Justice Department of a cover-up.
"At this very moment, the Department of Justice continues to lead a White House cover-up, and we are going to be demanding over the next few days that the remaining files that have not been released get released to the public," Garcia said.
Garcia said that includes therecent discoverythat the DOJ appears to have withheld some which Garcia said include accusations against Trump.
"It is unconscionable, it is illegal, and Pam Bondi and the president need to answer where those files are," he said.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment on the Democrats' allegations.But in astatementposted on X on Wednesday, it vowed to publish any documents if they are "found to have been improperly tagged in the review process."
"Several individuals and news outlets have recently flagged files related to documents produced to Ghislaine Maxwell in discovery of her criminal case that they claim appear to be missing," the DOJ account said."As with all documents that have been flagged by the public, the Department is currently reviewing files within that category of the production. Should any document befound 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."
Schumer and Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, also said that they sent a letter to the Justice Department and the FBI requesting that they preserve records related to the management of the Epstein files over the course of the Trump administration.
The Democrats accused the Trump administration of "mishandling the files for a year" and said that after Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the White House broke the law in producing the vast majority of files after the deadline.
They said it also broke the law by violating the legislation's protection for victims by publishing some records without redacting personally identifiable information and including nude photos where names and faces could be identified.
Blanche and Bondi wrote to Congress last month that more than 500 attorneys and others had been involved in reviewing the documents. In a Jan. 30 statement, the DOJ said, "The Department coordinated closely with victims and their lawyers to ensure that the production of documents includes necessary redactions. We want to immediately correct any redaction errors that our team may have made; so, the Department has established an email inbox for victims to reach us directly to correct redaction concerns when appropriate."
Trump has consistently denied allegations ofanywrongdoing in relation to Epsteinor any knowledge of Epstein's crimes.
"It's clear that Donald Trump and his Republican enablers are executing a cover-up and conceal strategy. Heads are rolling at the highest levels in the United Kingdom. Will heads roll in the United States?" Durbin said.
"As I told General Bondi during last year's Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, quote, 'Eventually, you're going to have to answer for your conduct in this. You won't do it today but eventually you will,'" Durbin said.
