New lawsuit on Epstein case seeks records of Trump administration
communications
[August 09, 2025]
WASHINGTON (AP) — A legal organization challenging President Donald
Trump's administration on multiple fronts filed a new lawsuit on Friday
seeking the release of records detailing the handling of the sex
trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
The group Democracy Forward sued the Justice Department and the FBI for
senior administration officials’ communication about Epstein documents
and any regarding correspondence between him and Trump.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, appears to the be
first of its kind. The group says it submitted requests under the
Freedom of Information Act for the records related to communications
about the case in late July that have not yet been fulfilled.
“The court should intervene urgently to ensure the public has access to
the information they need about this extraordinary situation,” said Skye
Perryman, the president and CEO of the Democratic-aligned group, in a
statement. The federal government often shields records related to
criminal investigations from public view.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a message seeking
comment.
Democracy Forward has filed dozens of lawsuits against Trump's
Republican administration, challenging policies and executive orders in
areas including education, immigration and health care.
The Epstein case has been subject to heightened public focus since the
Justice Department said last month it would not release additional
documents from the case, despite assurance from Attorney General Pam
Bondi.
The decision sparked frustration and anger among online sleuths,
conspiracy theorists and elements of Trump’s base who had hoped to see
proof of a government cover-up.
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A board outlining the case against Ghislaine Maxwell is seen during
a news conference to announce charges against Maxwell for her
alleged role in the sexual exploitation and abuse of multiple minor
girls by Jeffrey Epstein, July 2, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/John
Minchillo, File)
The Trump administration has sought to unseal grand jury
transcripts, though that has been denied by a judge in Florida. U.S.
District Judge Robin Rosenberg in West Palm Beach said the request
to release grand jury documents from 2005 and 2007 did not meet any
of the extraordinary exceptions under federal law that could make
them public.
A similar request for the work of a different grand jury is pending
in New York.
The House Oversight Committee has also subpoenaed the Justice
Department for files on the investigation, part of a congressional
probe that lawmakers believe may show links to Trump and other
former top officials.
Since Epstein’s 2019 death in a New York jail cell as he awaited
trial for sex trafficking charges, conservative conspiracists have
stoked theories about what information investigators gathered on the
wealthy financier and who else knew about his sexual abuse of
teenage girls.
Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and says he cut
off their relationship long ago, and he has repeatedly tried to move
past the Justice Department’s decision not to release a full
accounting of the investigation. But lawmakers from both major
political parties have refused to let it go.
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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this story.
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