Merkley: Trump Administration Breaking the Law by Failing to Comply with Epstein Files Transparency Act

Washington, D.C. - Today, Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley-the lead Senate sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act-issued the following statement after the Trump Administration indicated it would only release part of the Epstein Files, a violation of the law he championed:

"The Trump Administration has had almost one year since Trump returned to office to appropriately redact the Epstein Files to prepare them for release. Instead of meeting the legally required deadline today to release all of the files, they have chosen to illegally disregard the law I led the fight in the Senate to pass. By failing to comply, the Administration is openly denying 'equal justice under the law' to all of Jeffrey Epstein's victims.

"It is beyond unacceptable that Donald Trump would side with the rich and powerful to help cover up the abuse of our most vulnerable. I'll keep fighting to release all the Epstein Files and am exploring all avenues and legal tools to get justice for the victims and transparency for the American people."

Earlier this month, Merkley led a bipartisan group of lawmakers to demand a briefing from Attorney General Pam Bondi on the U.S. Department of Justice's efforts to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act and fully release the Epstein Files by December 19, 2025. In response to the Trump Administration's failure to provide said briefing, he teamed up with New Mexico's U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján-who co-led the Senate introduction of the Epstein Files Transparency Act with Merkley-to block over 90 pending civilian nominations before the Senate from being carried over to the new session of Congress.

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