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What They Don’t Want You to Know: Trump, Epstein, and Our Battle for Public Records
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The Trump administration really doesn’t want you to see its records, and it has no issue leveraging the power of the government to conceal, delay, and avoid public accountability.
Just this week, the administration fought to conceal key information about its recent deadly attack on a small boat from Venezuela, its use of auto-deleting messaging software, and the president’s ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — among other problematic actions.
The public has a right to know what its government is doing and with whom. At American Oversight, we're committed to defending that right. This week, we filed multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and lawsuits for information about the Trump administration’s actions and influences, which it is determined to keep in the dark.
New Lawsuit Demands FBI, DOJ Records of Trump Involvement in Epstein Investigation
This week, we sued the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation ([link removed]) , challenging the FBI’s refusal to confirm whether Donald Trump was interviewed as part of its investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
* In 2020, we filed FOIA requests seeking the FBI’s release of witness interview reports, known as Form 302s, documenting any interviews it conducted of Trump during its 2006-2008 investigation.
* The FBI refused to release those records — or even to confirm whether they exist. The agency cited privacy concerns, even though Trump’s ties to Epstein and Maxwell are a matter of longstanding and widespread public record ([link removed]) .
* We previously appealed to the DOJ’s Office of Information Policy, which upheld the FBI’s refusal to state whether or not the records exist.
Our lawsuit — filed amid renewed scrutiny ([link removed]) about Trump’s ties to Epstein — asks the court to compel the DOJ and the FBI to conduct adequate searches for the 302s and other records memorializing interviews of Trump during the Epstein investigation, and to release any non-exempt documents.
* “Trump spent years promising transparency in the Epstein case if he returned to office. Instead, he’s wielded the power of the federal government to keep the truth hidden,” American Oversight’s Executive Director Chioma Chukwu said. “Real accountability demands full disclosure — and that starts with releasing these records.”
While Trump has publicly downplayed his relationship with Epstein, he acknowledged ([link removed]) in 2002 that Epstein was a “terrific guy” who enjoyed the company of “beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
* Recent reports allege that Trump’s name appeared repeatedly in internal government reviews of Epstein-related records, and that Trump personally wrote a note and drew an image of a naked woman in a book ([link removed]) given to Epstein.
* Earlier this month, we filed a separate suit against the DOJ and the FBI ([link removed]) after the agencies failed to release records about the Trump administration’s review of investigation materials related to Epstein. That suit seeks, among other records, documents clarifying the roles of Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel in the review and why the process appeared designed to shield Trump, including directives for FBI personnel to flag any documents that mentioned the former president.
After Deadly Boat Bombings in International Waters, We’re Demanding the Trump Administration’s Legal Justification
Last month, the Trump administration bombed a small boat ([link removed]) in international waters, killing 11 people on board. Just days later, it launched a second similar attack ([link removed]) , this time killing three more people. The president claimed the boats were carrying drugs linked to a Venezuelan gang, but no evidence has been publicly released to support those claims.
We filed FOIA requests to uncover more about the attacks, which legal experts allege could constitute war crimes. At a minimum, the strikes raise serious questions about the president’s constitutional authority to order such strikes, and grave concerns that Trump acted without proper legal justification.
* Our FOIA requests ([link removed]) seek DOJ and DOD records reflecting any legal justification for the bombings. We’re also seeking any related agency-held legal advice, opinions, analyses, or memos.
** On the Records
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Internal Pentagon Watchdog Report on Hegseth’s Signal Use Completed, Public Still in the Dark
The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (OIG) reportedly ([link removed]) completed its review of Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of Signal and other auto-deleting messaging platforms for official business this week, but the findings have not yet been made public.
* We filed a FOIA request ([link removed]) for the OIG’s report.
* “Secretary Hegseth and other top officials put our national security at risk and jeopardized the lives of our brave men and women in uniform when they used Signal to discuss sensitive military operations,” American Oversight’s Executive Director Chioma Chukwu said. “The American people have a right to know what the inspector general uncovered about this reckless misconduct — including whether and how these officials broke the law. The IG’s independent report is a critical part of exposing the truth.”
The report follows a months-long OIG review of Hegseth’s inclusion of a journalist on a Signal chat discussing sensitive military operations ([link removed]) in Yemen earlier this year.
* We’ve been investigating this serious national security breach and holding the administration accountable for its obligations to preserve critical government records.
* Our litigation ([link removed]) over the now-infamous Signalgate scandal has resulted in a court order ([link removed]) to preserve records, spurred the inspector general evaluation ([link removed]) , and exposed ([link removed]) a broader pattern of recordkeeping violations across multiple federal agencies ([link removed]) .
* This week new reports ([link removed]) alleged that top Trump administration officials could have recently used an unsecured app with auto-delete capabilities to discuss the deployment of military troops to Portland, Oregon.
** Other Stories We’re Following
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American Oversight in the News
* 'Reckless misconduct': Trump admin hit with FOIA request for full DOD inspector general report on Hegseth's use of Signal to discuss 'sensitive military operations' (Law & Crime ([link removed]) )
* Senate OKs Richey to Lead ED Civil Rights Office (Inside Higher Ed ([link removed]) )
Trump Administration Accountability
* National Guard poised to enter Chicago as Trump calls for jailing Democratic leaders (Reuters ([link removed]) )
* Hegseth’s sprawling hunt for Charlie Kirk critics spans nearly 300 investigations (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Trump appoints new head of immigration courts (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Trump’s polluter playground: Fossil fuel insiders & ideologues prop up dirty energy & derail clean power (Public Citizen ([link removed]) )
* FBI fires special agents who worked on Jack Smith's probe into Trump (NBC News ([link removed]) )
In the States
* South Carolina authorities are investigating a fire that engulfed the home of state circuit court judge (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Ryan Walters facing ethics investigation over departure from office (Oklahoma Voice ([link removed]) )
* A year of convulsions in New York prisons (New Yorker ([link removed]) )
National News
* Furloughed workers not guaranteed back pay after shutdown, OMB claims (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* A major census test begins recruiting workers as some warn about delays (NPR ([link removed]) )
* Federal workers sue the Education Department over partisan shutdown emails (NPR ([link removed]) )
Immigration
* A quarter of FBI agents are assigned to immigration enforcement, per FBI data (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* American Gulag: Inside the hell of Alligator Alcatraz (Mother Jones ([link removed]) )
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