Democrats in Congress accused the Department of Justice this Friday of having violated the law in its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and denounced that the cover-up of irregularities reaches up to the presidential office.
The legislative accusation, which revives one of the darkest episodes in American politics, places the government under a storm of questions about transparency, legality and institutional responsibility.
The epicenter of the scandal
Jeffrey Epstein, the financier accused of sex trafficking of minors, died by hanging in prison in 2019 at the age of 66 in circumstances that still raise suspicions of a homicide, but what is now at stake is not only Epstein’s guilty and pedophile memory, but the actions of the Department of Justice itself.
Democratic legislators maintain, including the party’s own leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, that the agency failed to comply with legal obligations by hiding key information and stopping investigations that could have reached high-level figures, including the president.
“We are facing a flagrant violation of the law,” declared the Democratic challengers of the government’s actions. “The American people deserve to know whether the Department of Justice acted as a guarantor of justice or as a shield for political interests.”
“Todd Blanche, Deputy Secretary of Justice, does not comply with either the spirit or the letter of the law that Donald Trump signed just 30 days ago. Ro Khanna is right,” said Republican Thomas Massie, a member of the House of Representatives since 2013.
Ro Khanna is a Democratic United States congressman representing California’s 17th district, in the heart of Silicon Valley, since 2017.
Massie and Khanna argue that the law they are promoting was designed precisely to prevent censorship like the one carried out by the Department of Justice.
The president’s hand
The most explosive element of the complaint is Trump’s alleged involvement in the irregularities. According to lawmakers, there are indications that the presidential office intervened to limit the scope of the investigations, protecting allies and preventing the case from escalating to the White House.
Although the administration has denied any involvement, the cover-up narrative is gaining traction in a polarized political climate. For critics, the Epstein case has become a symbol of how institutions can be manipulated to shield the powerful.
The Justice Department, traditionally considered the guardian of the law, now faces accusations of failing in its duty. Democrats maintain that the agency ignored legal provisions requiring it to inform victims and ensure transparent processes.
The Epstein case had already generated public outrage over the 2008 settlement in Florida, when the financier received a sentence considered lenient after secret negotiations with prosecutors. That episode was seen as an example of unequal justice, where economic power and political connections outweighed the rights of the victims.
Now, new allegations suggest that history is repeating itself, but with an even greater scope: the involvement of the president and the alleged violation of the law by the Department of Justice.
Immediate future
Democrats announced that they will promote a special commission to investigate the irregularities and that they will request access to internal documents of the Department of Justice. They also raised the possibility of subpoenaing high-ranking officials to testify under oath.
The White House, for its part, responded in a statement that rejects the accusations and assures that “the president has had no involvement in the Epstein case.” However, political and media pressure promises to intensify in the coming weeks to further strain “the political swamp of Washington,” as Trump himself once called the power structure in the United States.
At the time of his death in 2019, Jeffrey Epstein’s fortune was valued at about $578 million, made up of luxury properties, private islands in the Caribbean, and hundreds of millions in cash and investments.
Police in Palm Beach, Florida, began investigating Epstein in 2005, after the family of a 14-year-old girl reported that she had been the victim of sexual assault at his mansion. The FBI joined the investigation, and authorities gathered testimonies from several minors who said they had been hired to give sexual massages to the financier of Jewish origin.
The so-called “Epstein list” is not a single official document, but a set of court files, contact diaries, flight records and emails linked to Jeffrey Epstein that have been declassified in recent years.
These materials mention politicians, businessmen and celebrities, including former President William Clinton, who appears profusely in photos, and the current helmsman of the White House, Donald Trump, a public friend of the perverted magnate, although their appearance does not necessarily imply guilt or participation in crimes.
