The Hill February 12, 2026

Trump DOJ Accused of Epstein Cover-Up Over File Redactions

Key Takeaways

▶ Newsmax host Carl Higbie accused the Trump DOJ of a 'cover-up' for redacting names from Epstein files and demanded officials 'go to jail.'
▶ The Epstein Transparency Act, signed November 19, 2025 after passing the House 427-1, mandated declassification but released documents arrived heavily redacted.
▶ Les Wexner was labeled a co-conspirator by a congressman who named six individuals hidden in DOJ redactions.
▶ Kathryn Ruemmler, former Obama White House counsel and Goldman Sachs general counsel, resigned after Epstein communications surfaced.
▶ The criticism from Newsmax — typically a Trump-friendly outlet — signals a fracture in the conservative coalition over Epstein transparency.

Newsmax host Carl Higbie accused the Trump administration’s Justice Department of a cover-up over its handling of Epstein file redactions, declaring on air that responsible officials should face prison time, according to The Hill.¹

Higbie, who hosts “Carl Higbie Frontline,” directed his criticism at the DOJ for redacting identifying information throughout documents connected to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex trafficker who died in federal custody in 2019.¹

“This is either a cover-up or it’s incompetence, and I want somebody to go to jail for it,” Higbie said on his broadcast.¹

A Rare Break From Trump Allies

The criticism is notable coming from Newsmax, a network that typically provides supportive coverage of Donald Trump and his administration. Higbie placed blame not only on the current DOJ but also on Trump’s first-term Attorney General Bill Barr and on the Bush, Obama and Biden administrations for having “failed” to release the department’s files on Epstein.¹

Higbie pointed to redactions raised by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) during a contentious Feb. 11 hearing with Attorney General Pam Bondi, in which Massie said hundreds of pages containing FBI interview summaries were blacked out.¹⁶ Higbie asked why “hundreds of them” were “fully redacted.”¹

The Newsmax host also praised Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) for pressing Bondi on whether any Epstein co-conspirators or associated individuals were under active investigation. Bondi declined to answer, telling Nadler that his “theatrics are ridiculous.”¹ Higbie responded: “As much as I hate Democrats, it was a good question, and the answer is zero.”¹

The criticism arrives as the administration faces pressure from multiple directions. Bondi faced questioning about what would remain hidden in the files.² Days earlier, Trump called for ending the Epstein investigation entirely.³ Massie later said he had lost confidence in Bondi over the redaction dispute.⁷

Transparency Law, Redacted Results

Trump signed the Epstein Transparency Act into law on Nov. 19, 2025, after it passed the House 427-1 and the Senate unanimously.¹ The law states that no record “shall be withheld, delayed, or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.”⁸

The DOJ subsequently released 3.5 million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos, but the documents arrived heavily redacted.¹ The department identified more than 6 million pages as potentially responsive but released roughly half that amount, stating officials had erred on the side of “over-collection.”⁸ Higbie noted: “The DOJ has 6 million pages of investigations and hundreds of victims and no arrests.”¹

Names Surface Despite Redactions

Names have continued emerging despite the blackouts. Rep. Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) named six individuals on the House floor whose identities had been redacted, including billionaire Leslie Wexner, who was listed as a co-conspirator on an FBI document related to child sex trafficking.⁴⁶ Wexner had transferred a $77 million Manhattan mansion to Epstein for $0, according to property records.⁴

Kathryn Ruemmler, former Obama White House counsel and Goldman Sachs general counsel, resigned after emails surfaced in which she referred to Epstein as “Uncle Jeffrey.”⁵

Higbie said the law mandated full disclosure and that the DOJ’s redactions directly contradict that mandate. The administration now faces criticism from within its own political coalition over whether it will comply with the transparency law it signed.