Democrats to block Senate nominations over Bondi’s ‘failure’ on Epstein files | US politics
Two Democratic senators have announced they will take the initiative. Blocking pending civilian nominees before the Senate in response to what they describe as the Trump administration’s “failure to brief lawmakers” on the release of files on Jeffrey Epstein.
Senators Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico Epstein Files Transparency Acthe said expression “No business can be the same until there is justice for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s horrific crimes,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
Earlier this month, a group of MPs From both sides, including Luján and Merkley was called Attorney General Pam Bondi will provide a briefing and status update on the department’s efforts to comply with the law requiring it to release files on the disgraced financier by Dec. 19.
The group of MPs had said they wanted the briefing because they were “specifically focused on understanding the context of any new evidence, information or procedural hurdles that could interfere with the department’s ability to meet this statutory deadline.”
But Tuesday’s announcement showed Bondi never gave that briefing. The White House and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The Trump administration’s lack of transparency about its plans to release the Epstein files signals that it is preparing to ignore the legislation we fought to pass in the Senate, which passed overwhelmingly in both houses of Congress,” Merkley and Luján said.
“Without full transparency and accountability, there can be no ‘equal justice under the law.’ Until the administration reverses course and delivers the common-sense briefing that lawmakers from both parties have demanded, we are blocking the Senate from moving its outstanding civilian nominees to next year.”
The Epstein Files Transparency Act was passed by Congress in mid-November. It requires the Justice Department to release all “declassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” in its possession related to the investigation and prosecution of Epstein, who died while awaiting trial in prison in 2019. A hearing on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors is set for Dec. 19.
