As the Ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) has been one of Congress’s most outspoken critics of the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and Donald Trump’s alleged ties to Epstein:

1. Accusations of a Federal “Cover-Up”

• Withholding Evidence: Raskin has accused the Department of Justice of engaging in a coordinated cover-up by dragging out disclosures, redacting key evidence, and defying congressional transparency mandates regarding Epstein’s documents.
• Protecting Co-Conspirators: He argued that the DOJ abruptly shut down ongoing inquiries into potential co-conspirators and shielded prominent individuals—most notably Donald Trump—from public scrutiny.
• DOJ Spying Allegations: Raskin released a formal statement condemning the Trump DOJ after reports surfaced that it had monitored Democratic staffers’ search histories while they reviewed unredacted files in government viewing rooms.

2. The Extent of Trump’s Presence in the Files

• Mentions in Documents: Raskin stated that Donald Trump’s name appears extensively—by his estimate, “more than a million times”—across the wider body of internal investigative documents and unredacted materials held by federal authorities.
• Challenging Trump’s “Falling Out” Story: Trump has long maintained that he had a falling out with Epstein and banned him from Mar-a-Lago early on. Raskin pointed to internal records—including a 2009 email exchange between Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell—which he argued show that Trump never formally barred Epstein and maintained informal channels of communication through mutual associates and attorneys.

3. House Judiciary Staff Report (October 2026)

Under Raskin’s direction, House Judiciary Committee Democrats released a comprehensive investigative staff report titled Epstein and Trump:

• Patterns in the 1990s: The report compiled witness testimony, FBI interview logs, and allegations from survivors detailing social and modeling circles in New York and Palm Beach between 1992 and 1997 where Epstein and Trump frequently crossed paths.
• Survivor Accounts: The report examined allegations from 11 women who described sexual misconduct or assault involving Trump, five of whom alleged incidents occurring directly within Epstein’s presence or social orbit.
• Referral for Investigation: Raskin asserted that the volume of corroborated evidence surpasses the standard needed for federal law enforcement to conduct a full investigation.

4. Demands for an Independent Special Counsel

• Independent Investigation: Raskin called for an independent special counsel to take over the investigation into Epstein’s surviving co-conspirators and examine whether the executive branch engaged in obstruction of justice.
• State & Foreign Cooperation: He pressed the DOJ to unblock federal evidence sharing so state attorneys general and foreign prosecutors can investigate unresolved leads involving Epstein’s network.

(Note: Trump and his legal representatives have denied these allegations, dismissed the Judiciary Committee Democrats’ report as politically motivated, and maintained that he had cut ties with Epstein years before Epstein’s first criminal conviction in Florida.)