The Democrats want to force the US Department of Justice to release the entire Epstein investigation. Through a rarely used law, they hope to obtain the material that Donald Trump previously promised to publish – but which he is now accused of withholding.

During Trump’s election campaign, he was clear that he wanted to release the convicted sex offender’s “black book” with names of clients who, among other things, flew on the scandal-ridden “Lolita Express” to a private island in the Caribbean – where there is testimony regarding sex trafficking of young women and girls.

Furthermore, Trump also said he wanted to release classified documents regarding the Epstein investigation that have not been published to the public.

In May this year, in connection with an internal investigation, the US Department of Justice announced that they would not release the documents, citing that the material contains child pornography and other sensitive information.

The investigation also claims that no black book with customers was found or that Jeffrey Epstein blackmailed clients.

Accused of cover-up

According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, Trump’s name allegedly appears multiple times, and the Department of Justice is said to have informed Trump about this. Trump subsequently supported the decision not to release the investigation, which led to sharp criticism from certain voters and political commentators.

EPSTEIN FILES VIA RULE OF FIVE?

Democrats going a way to force the Trump administration to get the documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.

The Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, and seven members of his party who serve on the National Security and Governmental… pic.twitter.com/6XnrkAbhsR

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) July 30, 2025

American political commentator Nick Fuentes has also accused the Trump administration of covering up the Epstein investigation. Following the criticism, Trump chose to release certain documents regarding the investigation, but a large portion of the material remains classified.

Broken his promise

Now the Democrats want to force the US Department of Justice to release the documents regarding the investigation, reports CBS News. They plan to do this by using a law called the “rule of five”.

— The situation with the Epstein files is very simple – Donald Trump promised transparency and he has broken that promise, says minority leader Chuck Schumer at a press conference. As a candidate, Trump said on many occasions he would release the Epstein files if elected, and yet he has refused to do so.

In brief, the law makes it possible to force federal agencies to release documents if five members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs request it. The law, which was enacted in 1928, is used very rarely and therefore it is difficult to predict whether it will hold up in court.

Chuck Schumer said the request covers “all documents, files, evidence or other materials in the possession of the Department of Justice or the FBI related to the case of United States v. Jeffrey Epstein” but also that “the private information of any victims is protected”.

Despite Trump’s previous promises and the Democrats’ intensified demands, it remains unclear whether the entire investigation will ever become fully public, or whether legal and confidentiality barriers will set limits on what the public gets to know.