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Democrats took action on Wednesday to compel Donald Trump to disclose documents related to the investigation of notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, using an obscure law to maintain pressure on a matter that has unsettled the US president’s administration.
The White House is facing mounting calls for greater transparency regarding the case of the disgraced financier, who passed away in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
On Tuesday, Trump added to the scrutiny surrounding his past ties with Epstein by explaining to reporters that he had a falling out with his former associate because Epstein “took” female staff from the spa at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Earlier this month, the Justice Department incited anger among Trump supporters by confirming that Epstein had died by suicide and that there was no hidden “client list,” contradicting conspiracy theories believed by some of Trump’s far-right backers regarding alleged high-level Democratic involvement.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democrats on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee reached out to the Justice Department, requesting the documents under a provision of federal law known as the “rule of five.”
This law, established a century ago but infrequently utilised, mandates that government agencies supply pertinent information if any five members of the Senate’s leading oversight committee make such a request.
Democrats have attempted to link votes on the Epstein files to unrelated legislation on multiple occasions, leading Speaker Mike Johnson to send lawmakers home for the summer one day earlier than planned last week, thereby stifling the efforts.
Senate Democrats initiated a separate strategy to obtain the files through a proposed legislation titled the Epstein Files Transparency Act, but this cannot be addressed until the House reconvenes in September.
In the meantime, the justices of the Supreme Court are slated to deliberate on September 29 regarding whether to entertain an appeal by Maxwell over her conviction for sex trafficking.
