In a 1997 photo, Jeffrey Epstein, left, and Donald Trump pose together at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
Davidoff Studios Photography | Archive Photos | Getty Images
The Department of Justice “appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews” with a survivor of sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, who had also accused President Donald Trump “of heinous crimes,” Rep. Robert Garcia said on Tuesday.
Garcia’s statement comes after reports that FBI interviews with that accuser were not viewable on the DOJ’s database of millions of files related to Epstein that were made public after a federal law was passed by Congress mandating their disclosure.
“For the last few weeks, Oversight Democrats have been investigating the FBI’s handling of allegations from 2019 of sexual assault on a minor made against President Donald Trump by a survivor,” Garcia, D-Calif., said in a statement.
“Yesterday, I reviewed unredacted evidence logs at the Department of Justice. Oversight Democrats can confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews with this survivor who accused President Trump of heinous crimes,” said Garcia, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
“Oversight Democrats will open a parallel investigation into this.”
Garcia also said that because of a prior subpoena issued by the Oversight Committee, as well as the Epstein Files Transparency Act, “these records must immediately be shared with Congress and the American public.”
“Covering up direct evidence of a potential assault by the President of the United States is the most serious possible crime in this White House cover up,” he said.
CNBC has requested comment on Garcia’s statement from the DOJ and the White House.
Trump is a former friend of Epstein. The two fell out in the early 2000s.
The president has never been criminally charged in connection with a claim by an Epstein survivor.
Trump last week said the Epstein files had “totally exonerated” him.
Trump’s comment came after he was asked by a reporter about the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former British prince, by police in the United Kingdom on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
That arrest is believed to be related to an investigation into whether Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles III, had shared confidential trade reports with Epstein.
“I’m the expert in a way because I’ve been totally exonerated. That’s very nice. I can actually speak about it very nicely,” Trump said of the arrest.
“I think it’s a shame. I did nothing,” the president said.
