Eight days before Election Day, House Judiciary Committee Democrats released a 50-plus-page staff report whose title borrows from the birthday letter Donald Trump insists he never wrote, “‘We Have Certain Things in Common, Jeffrey’: The Case Against Donald Trump Emerging in the Epstein Files and DOJ’s Desperate Efforts to Cover it Up.” The report, released Monday by Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, details evidence involving 11 women. Five of them directly accuse Trump of rape or sexual assault in Jeffrey Epstein’s company or presence, and two of the allegations involve 13-year-old girls. Democrats want an independent special counsel to investigate both Epstein’s co-conspirators and the Justice Department’s handling of the whole mess.
Consider this the Democrats’ October surprise, released with Election Day in sight. It may not cut through the MAGA haze (very little does), but at least someone’s trying. The newest allegation comes from Beatrice Keul, a Swiss former pageant contestant. She says Trump raped her in a Plaza Hotel suite during his 1993 American Dream pageant, on the same day Epstein introduced himself to her as “Don’s best friend.” That account rests on her interviews with committee staff, and she has previously described the encounter as an attempted rape. The White House says none of it is true.
The cover-up section of the report is also damning. Start with Todd Blanche, Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer and now Attorney General, who personally interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell in 2025. According to the report, Blanche steered Maxwell away “on at least three separate occasions” from discussing “Jane.” Jane is a survivor whose account in FBI files says Epstein introduced her to Trump at Mar-a-Lago when she was 14 with the line, “This is a good one, huh.” At one point, Blanche told Maxwell, “Let’s not talk about individuals.”
Democrats say that may amount to witness tampering and obstruction. Maxwell, you’ll recall, was moved to a minimum-security camp in Texas roughly a week after that interview, a transfer Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is still waiting for Blanche to explain.
Then there are the documents. The report says an FBI agent’s internal search for Trump and Epstein under “exploitation of minors” returned a case number tied to Epstein’s 2007 federal investigation. A whistleblower told Democrats that documents linked to that case number have been withheld from Congress and the public. A still-redacted 2009 email from Epstein’s lawyer says “Trump specifically asked” his own attorney to let Epstein’s team know about Trump’s interview with a lawyer for Epstein’s victims. That same redacted 2009 material has Trump saying Epstein “was never asked to leave” Mar-a-Lago. That’s awkward, since “I kicked him out” has been the official story for years. Blanche’s explanation for the redaction is that it’s a privileged communication between counsel.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Trump signed, allows redactions to protect victims. It has no carve-out for things that make the president look bad, a distinction the DOJ has struggled with since jump. Blanche personally blocked the DEA from releasing an unredacted document about a 2015 investigation into Epstein’s associates. Then Katie Phang sued him, and Judge Emmet Sullivan found Blanche had effectively conceded he was violating the law. Blanche answered with a brief that reads like a kid yelling “that’s not fair,” and by September, Sullivan was warning him about contempt. New Mexico sued too, because it can’t get the files it needs for its own criminal investigation into Epstein’s Zorro Ranch. So the “state and foreign prosecutors” part of Raskin’s demand isn’t hypothetical. And last week brought reports that White House officials helped draft the July 2025 FBI/DOJ memo that effectively shut down further Epstein investigations.
Got that? The DOJ kept a 2009 email about the president under wraps, but it published survivors’ identifying information. It withheld files tied to an “exploitation of minors” case number, but it somehow found room in the production for an Above the Law newsletter written years after Epstein died because the government is taking this very seriously.
Raskin isn’t mincing words:
“Trump’s Justice Department appears to be covering up these crimes to protect the President,” said Judiciary Ranking Member Jamie Raskin in a statement. “The women who survived Epstein deserve to be heard, Congress must have the complete files required by law, and an independent special counsel must investigate Epstein’s co-conspirators and DOJ’s cover-up and ensure that state and foreign prosecutors have the evidence they need to pursue justice.”
The report itself is doubtful the administration will take even that “minimal step,” and it’s not hard to see why. Blanche has already told the Senate the DOJ won’t prosecute anyone else connected to Epstein, and he once explained that “it isn’t a crime to party with Mr. Epstein.” Under the special counsel regulations, the decision to appoint one belongs to the Attorney General.
So the call on whether to investigate the president’s ties to Epstein belongs to the president’s lawyer (sorry, former lawyer), I’ll definitely be holding my breath for that one.
Earlier: Todd Blanche’s Top Priority Appears To Be Keeping Key Epstein Files From Seeing Light Of Day
Todd Blanche Sued Over Epstein Files Cover Up
The DOJ Has Betrayed Epstein Survivors — New Mexico Is Suing Over The Latest Issue
Todd Blanche’s Brief Has The Tone Of A Kid Yelling ‘That’s Not Fair’
Senator Whitehouse Is Still Waiting For Todd Blanche To Explain The Ghislaine Maxwell Prison Transfer
Senator Whitehouse Would Like To Tell You Exactly What He Thinks Of Todd Blanche
Paging Dr. Freud: Todd Blanche Calls Himself Trump’s Lawyer At His Attorney General Confirmation Hearing
Above The Law Is In The Epstein Files, Let Us Explain…
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Bluesky @Kathryn1
The post House Democrats Say Todd Blanche Steered Ghislaine Maxwell Away From A Trump Accuser appeared first on Above the Law.
Eight days before Election Day, House Judiciary Committee Democrats released a 50-plus-page staff report whose title borrows from the birthday letter Donald Trump insists he never wrote, “‘We Have Certain Things in Common, Jeffrey’: The Case Against Donald Trump Emerging in the Epstein Files and DOJ’s Desperate Efforts to Cover it Up.” The report, released Monday by Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, details evidence involving 11 women. Five of them directly accuse Trump of rape or sexual assault in Jeffrey Epstein’s company or presence, and two of the allegations involve 13-year-old girls. Democrats want an independent special counsel to investigate both Epstein’s co-conspirators and the Justice Department’s handling of the whole mess.
Consider this the Democrats’ October surprise, released with Election Day in sight. It may not cut through the MAGA haze (very little does), but at least someone’s trying. The newest allegation comes from Beatrice Keul, a Swiss former pageant contestant. She says Trump raped her in a Plaza Hotel suite during his 1993 American Dream pageant, on the same day Epstein introduced himself to her as “Don’s best friend.” That account rests on her interviews with committee staff, and she has previously described the encounter as an attempted rape. The White House says none of it is true.
The cover-up section of the report is also damning. Start with Todd Blanche, Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer and now Attorney General, who personally interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell in 2025. According to the report, Blanche steered Maxwell away “on at least three separate occasions” from discussing “Jane.” Jane is a survivor whose account in FBI files says Epstein introduced her to Trump at Mar-a-Lago when she was 14 with the line, “This is a good one, huh.” At one point, Blanche told Maxwell, “Let’s not talk about individuals.”
Democrats say that may amount to witness tampering and obstruction. Maxwell, you’ll recall, was moved to a minimum-security camp in Texas roughly a week after that interview, a transfer Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is still waiting for Blanche to explain.
Then there are the documents. The report says an FBI agent’s internal search for Trump and Epstein under “exploitation of minors” returned a case number tied to Epstein’s 2007 federal investigation. A whistleblower told Democrats that documents linked to that case number have been withheld from Congress and the public. A still-redacted 2009 email from Epstein’s lawyer says “Trump specifically asked” his own attorney to let Epstein’s team know about Trump’s interview with a lawyer for Epstein’s victims. That same redacted 2009 material has Trump saying Epstein “was never asked to leave” Mar-a-Lago. That’s awkward, since “I kicked him out” has been the official story for years. Blanche’s explanation for the redaction is that it’s a privileged communication between counsel.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Trump signed, allows redactions to protect victims. It has no carve-out for things that make the president look bad, a distinction the DOJ has struggled with since jump. Blanche personally blocked the DEA from releasing an unredacted document about a 2015 investigation into Epstein’s associates. Then Katie Phang sued him, and Judge Emmet Sullivan found Blanche had effectively conceded he was violating the law. Blanche answered with a brief that reads like a kid yelling “that’s not fair,” and by September, Sullivan was warning him about contempt. New Mexico sued too, because it can’t get the files it needs for its own criminal investigation into Epstein’s Zorro Ranch. So the “state and foreign prosecutors” part of Raskin’s demand isn’t hypothetical. And last week brought reports that White House officials helped draft the July 2025 FBI/DOJ memo that effectively shut down further Epstein investigations.
Got that? The DOJ kept a 2009 email about the president under wraps, but it published survivors’ identifying information. It withheld files tied to an “exploitation of minors” case number, but it somehow found room in the production for an Above the Law newsletter written years after Epstein died because the government is taking this very seriously.
Raskin isn’t mincing words:
“Trump’s Justice Department appears to be covering up these crimes to protect the President,” said Judiciary Ranking Member Jamie Raskin in a statement. “The women who survived Epstein deserve to be heard, Congress must have the complete files required by law, and an independent special counsel must investigate Epstein’s co-conspirators and DOJ’s cover-up and ensure that state and foreign prosecutors have the evidence they need to pursue justice.”
The report itself is doubtful the administration will take even that “minimal step,” and it’s not hard to see why. Blanche has already told the Senate the DOJ won’t prosecute anyone else connected to Epstein, and he once explained that “it isn’t a crime to party with Mr. Epstein.” Under the special counsel regulations, the decision to appoint one belongs to the Attorney General.
So the call on whether to investigate the president’s ties to Epstein belongs to the president’s lawyer (sorry, former lawyer), I’ll definitely be holding my breath for that one.
Earlier: Todd Blanche’s Top Priority Appears To Be Keeping Key Epstein Files From Seeing Light Of Day
Todd Blanche Sued Over Epstein Files Cover Up
The DOJ Has Betrayed Epstein Survivors — New Mexico Is Suing Over The Latest Issue
Todd Blanche’s Brief Has The Tone Of A Kid Yelling ‘That’s Not Fair’
Senator Whitehouse Is Still Waiting For Todd Blanche To Explain The Ghislaine Maxwell Prison Transfer
Senator Whitehouse Would Like To Tell You Exactly What He Thinks Of Todd Blanche
Paging Dr. Freud: Todd Blanche Calls Himself Trump’s Lawyer At His Attorney General Confirmation Hearing
Above The Law Is In The Epstein Files, Let Us Explain…
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Bluesky @Kathryn1
The post House Democrats Say Todd Blanche Steered Ghislaine Maxwell Away From A Trump Accuser appeared first on Above the Law.
