Democrats allege the US government illegally withheld FBI interview records about a woman’s sexual assault claims against Donald Trump, calling it a historic cover-up
WASHINGTON: Democrats have accused the Trump administration of orchestrating the “largest government cover-up in modern history” over withheld documents related to allegations that the president sexually abused a minor.
The accusation follows a review of millions of pages from the Jeffrey Epstein files released by the Justice Department under a transparency law. Public broadcaster NPR reported significant gaps in the files concerning a 2019 assault complaint against Donald Trump.
Indexes show FBI agents conducted four interviews with the accuser and generated summaries and notes. Only one summary, focused on her allegations against Epstein, appears in the public database.
The remaining three summaries and related notes, totalling over 50 pages, are absent from the Justice Department’s website. The New York Times and cable network MS NOW reported similar findings.
“This is largest government cover-up in modern history. We are demanding answers,” the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said in a statement.
The woman first contacted authorities in July 2019, shortly after Epstein’s arrest. Internal references in the released files describe her alleging that Epstein introduced her to Trump and that Trump assaulted her in the mid-1980s when she was a teenager.
A 2025 FBI document in the database recounts that claim but does not assess its credibility. The detailed memos from follow-up interviews in August and October 2019 are not included.
Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said he reviewed unredacted evidence logs and reached the same conclusion. “Oversight Democrats can confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews with this survivor,” Garcia said.
He added that Democrats would open a parallel investigation and demand the missing records be provided to Congress. The Justice Department argues any material not posted falls within categories allowed under the law.
These categories include duplicates, privileged records, or documents tied to an ongoing federal investigation. The department denied deleting files in a social media response.
It stated that documents temporarily removed for victim-related redactions or to remove personally identifiable information will be restored. Democrats argue the missing interview records do not fit the cited categories.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, arguing the DOJ’s “Epstein Files” release exonerated him.
