Senate Democrats push for Epstein documents as Republicans focus elsewhere

Senate Democrats have begun to ramp up their push for the full release of documents related to the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, while Senate Republicans have tried to focus their attention elsewhere.

“The story Republicans hoped would quietly fade is growing louder by the hour,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor.

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Schumer has led the charge among Senate Democrats in demanding more transparency on the Epstein issue, and has used the drama in recent weeks as a political cudgel to go after congressional Republicans and the White House.

His remarks come after a recent Wall Street Journal report alleged that President Donald Trump’s name appeared in the documents surrounding Epstein, and that he was told by the Justice Department about it before publicly saying he was not among the untold number of names within the documents.

Trump also ordered Bondi to “produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony” on the matter, and top Justice Department official Todd Blanche met with Epstein accomplice Ghislane Maxwell in Florida on Thursday to discuss the late pedophile and alleged sex trafficker.

“It has the stench of a cover-up,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Digital. “The only right outcome here is to release and disclose all the files. There should be no secret meetings or secret deals.”

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Chuck Schumer’s future as Democratic leader in the Senate is anything but certain after a crucial vote that led to backlash on the ground. (Reuters)

But the Epstein saga has not had near the effect in the Senate as in the House, where House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent lawmakers home early this week for a month-long break after some Republicans and Democrats joined forces in their calls to bring the so-called Epstein files out in the open.

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, have downplayed the issue, arguing that Congress has far less power to obtain the information than the Justice Department does.

Sen. Ron Johnson, who chairs the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, told Fox News Digital that he does not like “duplicating efforts,” but noted that he is still curious to know more information about the Epstein documents.  

“I’m like every American who knows anything about this – I’m curious,” the Wisconsin Republican said. “It doesn’t make any sense to me, starting back with his original trial and very light sentence. But I think there are far more important things to worry about.”

Senate Democrats are trying to force the issue, however. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., again tried to introduce a non-binding resolution that called on Bondi to release all files related to Epstein, and the move was again blocked by Sen. Markwaye Mullin, R-Okla. 

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Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., questions Ron Price, CCO of the PGA Tour, and Jimmy Dunne, PGA board member, during the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing titled “The PGA-LIV Deal: Implications for the Future of Golf and Saudi Arabia’s Influence in the United States,” in the Hart Building on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Gallego said that the White House continues to make the issue “political theater,” something that began on the campaign trail.

“They fed this monster, and now they have to figure out the solution to what the American public is asking for, which is, you know, resolution and answers to their questions,” he said.

Mullin, however, introduced his own resolution that comported with the president’s order for state and federal courts to release all Epstein documents surrounding the criminal investigation and prosecution against him. But when Gallego offered to combine the two, he objected, and accused him of turning the issue into a “political football.”

“One, in this particular case — in a lot of cases — we’re not willing to stretch the truth to tell something that’s not accurate,” Mullin said. “We want to be accurate with what we’re telling the American people. And the truth is, what can Congress do?”

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So far, Mullin’s resolution is the only action offered by Senate Republicans in the ongoing Epstein saga. When asked if he would be interested in bringing the resolution to the floor for a vote, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said “obviously there is some interest in taking action on it, and we’ll see how intense that feeling is.”

Still, some Republicans don’t want to focus their efforts elsewhere.

“I hope we don’t waste our time on that,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-TX, and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “We’ve got enough to do.”