The day following a stunning revelation in the Wall Street Journal regarding President Donald Trump being informed back in May about his name appearing in the Epstein files, Congressman Robert Garcia visited Long Beach to articulate his reasons for insisting on the release of the documents.

“Those who have exploited and mistreated children, minors, and young women must be held accountable for their actions. The oversight committee stands ready to ensure accountability,” he stated.

Meanwhile, in Tallahassee, Florida, the Department of Justice met with Ghislaine Maxwell for roughly six hours.

Maxwell, Epstein’s imprisoned former girlfriend who is serving a 20-year sentence, was convicted of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls.

Garcia also remarked, “She likely seeks a pardon from Donald Trump, hence her meeting with Trump’s Department of Justice cannot be trusted without corroborated documents and records sourced directly from the Epstein files.”

Maxwell is expected to testify next month in front of House Oversight officials, including Garcia, who is the top Democrat on the committee.

Earlier this month, the DOJ said it would not release more files related to the Epstein investigation and that a client list does not exist, even though Attorney General Pam Bondi previously claimed otherwise.

Eyewitness News asked Garcia if his constituents in Southern California care about releasing the Epstein files.

“Yes,” he said. “I have actually been surprised at how interested they are. I’ve been talking to people when I’ve been back home and yes people are concerned about healthcare and other issues, but everyone is asking me about this, why this happened. I talked to more conservative folks who are supporters of Donald Trump, and they just don’t understand why he’s doing this, and they think it’s a huge betrayal.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, appearing in the Epstein files is not a sign of wrongdoing.