WASHINGTON — An independent special counsel should investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirators, House Judiciary Democrats said on Monday. The call came in a staff report that also accuses the Justice Department of withholding evidence and shutting down investigations.
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the committee’s ranking Democrat, released the report. Its accounts involve 11 women. Five of them directly accuse President Donald Trump of rape or sexual assault in Epstein’s company or presence, according to the committee Democrats. Others describe what the report calls apparent attempts by Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell to traffic them to Trump.
Those are allegations in a Democratic staff report, not findings by a court. The allegations have not resulted in criminal findings against Trump, Newsmax reported.
“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.”
For the report, committee staff interviewed people and drew on survivor accounts and FBI records, the release said. They also used documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The report places the assaults and misconduct it describes in New York and Palm Beach between 1992 and 1997, with one exception. Many of the women had ties to the modeling industry, it says.
The report also faults Attorney General Todd Blanche over Maxwell’s two-day interview in July 2025. Blanche, it says, stopped Maxwell from discussing a survivor whose account implicated Trump, at one point telling her, “Let’s not talk about individuals.” The Democrats say that may have amounted to witness tampering and obstruction, a claim they attribute to Blanche’s handling of the interview ahead of Maxwell’s scheduled appearance before the House Oversight Committee.
Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing involving Epstein. He has said the two fell out years ago and that he barred Epstein from Mar-a-Lago for inappropriate behavior, Newsmax reported.
The White House rejected the report’s allegations. Spokesperson Lauren Bis told Politico that Trump has been “totally exonerated on anything related to Epstein,” Newsmax reported. Bis also said Trump had done more for Epstein’s victims than earlier administrations, pointing to the release of thousands of documents, cooperation with congressional investigators and his signing of the transparency law.
Beyond the special counsel, the Democrats called for full cooperation with state and foreign prosecutors seeking evidence, and for Congress to use its oversight and legislative powers. Congress itself cannot appoint a special counsel.
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