WASHINGTON – Democrats are keeping pressure on the Trump administration over its refusal to release the Justice Department’s files on the late sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.
In a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel on Thursday, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) put it bluntly: “Who exactly are you protecting by refusing to release the Epstein files?”
Raskin’s letter follows an unsuccessful effort on Wednesday by Senate Democrats to move a bill requiring the release of the files, and an ongoing bipartisan effort to force a vote on similar legislation in the lower chamber.
Raskin’s message also likely previews questions Patel will get from Democrats during a Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill next week. Raskin is the committee’s top Democrat.
In the meantime, Patel may have bigger problems, including an ongoing manhunt for the shooter who assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday in Utah. Patel announced Wednesday evening that the “subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody,” only to backtrack hours later and say the suspect had been released after an interrogation.
