type: timeline_event
Beginning on March 9, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice released additional Epstein files following an NPR investigation that exposed the selective withholding of documents related to sexual abuse allegations against President Donald Trump. NPR's investigation found 53 pages missing from the DOJ's public Epstein database, including notes from law enforcement interviews, a law enforcement report, and license records.
The withheld documents included summaries of interviews with a woman who stated she was sexually assaulted by Trump in the 1980s when she was between 13 and 15 years old, after being introduced to Trump by Jeffrey Epstein. The DOJ released an additional 16 pages following public pressure, claiming the files had been "incorrectly coded as duplicative" -- a characterization widely questioned by legal observers and congressional investigators.
Despite the partial release, NPR reported that 37 pages of Epstein-related records remained missing from the public database as of mid-March 2026. The episode drew accusations from Democratic members of Congress that the DOJ had deliberately suppressed material implicating the president. The House Oversight Committee voted 24-19 in a bipartisan vote on March 4 to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify about the department's handling of the Epstein files, with Republicans Nancy Mace, Tim Burchett, Michael Cloud, Lauren Boebert, and Scott Perry joining Democrats.
The selective withholding and delayed release of files mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act raised serious concerns about the DOJ's independence and willingness to protect the president from legally required disclosure.