Senate Democrats are turning to an obscure rule in their push to release the Epstein files and keep the Trump administration’s handling of them front and center.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and every Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee sent a letter to the Department of Justice requesting it turn over all documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.
The Democrats are seeking the documents via the “rule of five,” which stems from a 1928 law and requires government agencies to hand over information if any five lawmakers on a Senate or House committee make the request.
It is a relatively untested provision in court, raising questions about whether it will work.
But Democrats, wanting to keep up the pressure on Senate Republicans and President Trump, made the request Wednesday.
“After missteps and failed promises by your Department regarding these files, it is essential that the Trump Administration provide full transparency,” the Democrats wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi, pointing to promises in recent years by Trump and Bondi herself to release the documents.
“We call on you to fulfill those promises of transparency,” they continued.
They gave the Department of Justice until Aug. 15 to hand over the relevant documents.
“This is not complicated, said Schumer, who was joined by Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the committees top Democrat, and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “Every single time Trump, his administration [and] Republican leaders have had a chance to be transparent about the Epstein files, they’ve chosen to hide.”
Schumer and the HSGAC members were flanked by a placard featuring Trump and Epstein together, with the president being quoted as calling the disgraced financier a “terrific guy,” “a lot of fun to be with” and “likes beautiful women as much as I do.”
Epstein died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The Democrats’ latest move comes after weeks of intense struggles within the Republican Party to respond to the Epstein saga.
Many within the MAGA movement, including Trump’s close allies, have expressed outrage over the administration’s failure to make the documents public.
Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly urged lawmakers and his supporters to drop the Epstein issue, though there are few signs that those calls are being heeded.
The House was forced to adjourn early for its August recess after the chamber became paralyzed due to an uproar from members over the administration’s handling of the Epstein files.
In addition, multiple Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s panel on Federal Law Enforcement defied the White House by siding with Democrats to subpoena the Justice Department for its files regarding the Epstein investigation.
And Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) moved during a separate Oversight subcommittee hearing to subpoena Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime Epstein associate who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. The panel approved the motion by voice vote.
“The evasions, the delays, the excuses they are not just odd, they’re alarming,” Schumer said Wednesday. “It begs the question: If there’s nothing to hide, why all the evasiveness?”
What remains unclear is whether the DOJ will actually acquiesce to the Democratic request, and what would happen if they stonewall the effort.
“This is the law,” the Democratic leader said, adding that they are talking to Senate Republicans about joining the push. “This should be bipartisan, and we’re still talking to Republican colleague about trying to join us and that could help get this public. If not, there’s recourse in the courts. This is the law.”
“WE have talked to some of our lawyers. This can be challenged in the courts,” he added.
Updated at 1:30 p.m. EDT.
