'We have not forgotten': Lawmakers put Trump on notice over missed Epstein files deadline

Amid the chaos sparked by the Trump administration’s unprecedented attack on Venezuela Saturday, a key deadline for the Justice Department regarding files on Jeffrey Epstein came and went, and House Democrats were happy to put the administration on notice.

“We are sure it’s just a coincidence, but today is the statutory date for the DOJ to explain its redactions in the Epstein file productions,” reads a statement from Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee shared on social media. “We have not forgotten, and we won’t let up – regardless of the President’s new unconstitutional actions.”

Saturday saw the administration pressed on its unprecedented attack and subsequent capturing of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro, but amid all the chaos, the administration had failed to meet the Jan. 3 deadline to explain its redactions to the trove of Epstein files it had published the month prior.

The DOJ was required to release all of its files on Epstein by Dec. 19, but instead, released only a small fraction of its files on Epstein, and with redactions that critics have called unlawful. While the DOJ continued to release additional files on Epstein beyond its Dec. 19 deadline, the agency continued to withhold hundreds of thousands of files, and continued to release them with redactions outside the scope of what law permits.

Additionally, the DOJ stunned critics after announcing on Christmas Eve that it had discovered a “million more” documents related to Epstein.

A handful of lawmakers have now moved to take matters into their own hands, such as Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), the sponsors of the legislation that forced the Trump administration to release its files on Epstein. Khanna plans to make an announcement with Massie this week as to how they plan to force the administration to release all of the remaining files.