Legal panel discusses subsequent steps in Epstein case
Shannon Bream hosts a authorized panel on ‘Fox News Sunday’ to weigh in on Democrats’ ‘defy unlawful orders’ video, the approaching Epstein recordsdata launch, the National Guard’s legality in blue cities, and Texas’ redistricting battle on the Supreme Court.
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Congress could also be winding down for the 12 months, however senators are making one final push for the Trump administration to comply with the regulation and launch its trove of recordsdata and paperwork associated to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Lawmakers final month handed laws that compels the Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch all supplies associated to Epstein, and the deadline is Friday. Senate Democrats are already ready to behave in case the DOJ doesn’t comply with by.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., warned that if the administration withholds paperwork, or abuses “slim exemptions to cover the reality,” there could be authorized and political penalties.
SENATE UNANIMOUSLY PASSES EPSTEIN FILES BILL, SENDS TO TRUMP’S DESK
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, throughout a information convention on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Dec. 11, 2025. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg by way of Getty Images)
“Stop hiding, cease delaying,” Schumer mentioned. “Come clear with the American folks. And should you do not, the query will solely get louder and louder and louder. Trump, ‘What the hell are you making an attempt to cover?’”
Trump signed the invoice shortly after it handed unanimously within the Senate — at Schumer’s behest — and it simply glided by the House.
Prior to the vote, Trump shifted his place to backing the discharge of the paperwork after a firestorm erupted in Congress, significantly the House, for a number of months after the FBI introduced that it “is the dedication of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no additional disclosure could be applicable or warranted,” of supplies associated to the late financier after reviewing troves of paperwork within the DOJ’s possession.
The invoice requires that the DOJ launch all unclassified data associated to Epstein, his confederate Ghislaine Maxwell, identified associates and entities linked to Epstein and Maxwell, inside DOJ decision-making on the Epstein case, data on destroying or tampering with paperwork, and all paperwork on his detention and demise.
SCHUMER SAYS HE’LL MOVE TO PASS EPSTEIN BILL ‘IMMEDIATELY’ IN SENATE
Portrait of American financier Jeffrey Epstein (left) and actual property developer Donald Trump as they pose collectively on the Mar-a-Lago property, Palm Beach, Fla., Feb. 22, 1997. (Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)
There are some situations the place the DOJ may select to withhold sure paperwork, together with supplies that reveal victims’ identities or medical recordsdata, baby intercourse abuse supplies, info that might jeopardize lively investigations, photographs of graphic demise or harm, or categorized nationwide safety info.
But the regulation lacks an precise enforcement mechanism to pressure Attorney General Pam Bondi to launch the specified paperwork. Still, Republicans are assured that the DOJ will comply with by.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., advised Fox News Digital that he “voted to launch the Epstein recordsdata each single time that we have had a chance to do it throughout administrations.”
WHITE HOUSE SLAMS HOUSE DEMS RELEASING EPSTEIN PHOTOS SHOWING TRUMP, CLINTON, WOODY ALLEN
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., talks with reporters within the U.S. Capitol after the House handed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on May 22, 2025. (Tom Williams/Getty Images)
“I believe I presume good religion on the a part of the DOJ,” he mentioned. “I imply, hear, the president signed the regulation. I imply, he is known as on them to be launched. So I believe I will likely be shocked in the event that they didn’t launch them. We’ll discover out fairly quickly.”
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., advised Fox News Digital that he believed Congress had been clear about its calls for for the recordsdata and had “no purpose to imagine that they submit or present the knowledge.”
When requested about Schumer’s authorized threats, he known as the highest Senate Democrat a “liar.”
“That’s my response to something Chuck Schumer says,” Schmitt mentioned. “He’s one of many worst senators within the historical past of the nation.”
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Other Republicans are extra apathetic concerning the recordsdata’ anticipated launch however are nonetheless intrigued by what new info they might maintain.
“I don’t actually care. I’m as curious as anyone else,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wyo., advised Fox News Digital. “Do I believe there are going to be bombshells? We’ll see what we’re going to get. It’s not my problem. It’s not my prime precedence. It’s method down there on the record.”
