Trump Calls for End to Epstein Investigation

President Donald Trump told reporters the Justice Department should move on from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, saying the DOJ had other priorities after releasing millions of pages of files. “If you look at the DOJ, they announced, you know, they released three million pages. It’s like this is all they’re supposed to be doing. And frankly, the DOJ, I think, should just say we have other things to do,” Trump said, according to CBS News.¹

The remarks, made in early February 2026 and aired on CBS News’ “The Takeout with Major Garrett,” represent Trump’s most direct public statement on the Epstein files since returning to office.¹

DOJ Signals No New Charges

Trump’s comments were reinforced by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who signaled the Justice Department does not expect to bring charges against anyone else connected to Epstein. “It’s not a crime to party with Mr. Epstein,” Blanche told Fox News, a remark that drew bipartisan criticism from lawmakers and victims’ advocates.²

Blanche said the department had completed its review of the Epstein files and that the White House had “no oversight” of the process.²

The statements appeared to conflict with the intent of the Epstein Transparency Act, which passed the House 427-1 and the Senate unanimously before Trump signed it into law on November 19, 2025. The law mandated the release of government documents related to Epstein’s criminal activities and associates. The DOJ subsequently released 3.5 million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos.¹

Bipartisan Pushback

The administration’s posture has drawn criticism from within Trump’s own party. Rep. Thomas Massie expressed a loss of confidence in Attorney General Pam Bondi over the handling of the files. A lawmaker named six men allegedly hidden in the Epstein files despite the transparency law. Bondi herself has faced repeated questioning from lawmakers about the scope of the disclosure.

Trump’s call to move on also coincided with an earlier November 2025 directive in which he asked the Justice Department and FBI to investigate Epstein’s involvement with prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, and major financial institutions — a request that appeared to frame the Epstein case in partisan terms.²

Status of Investigations

Jeffrey Epstein died on August 10, 2019, at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His associate Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted on December 29, 2021, of sex trafficking minors and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. No additional co-conspirators have been charged in the United States.¹

Epstein’s original 2008 plea deal, negotiated by then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta with Epstein’s defense team — which included Alan Dershowitz and Kenneth Starr — resulted in 13 months of county jail with work release privileges.

However, the administration’s assertion that the files warrant no further action has been contradicted by events abroad. Authorities in other countries have opened investigations based on the released materials, and multiple civil lawsuits against Epstein’s estate and alleged associates remain pending in U.S. courts. Several survivors have called for full disclosure and criminal accountability beyond the single conviction of Maxwell.²

References

1. The Takeout with Major Garrett — Trump interview — CBS News
2. CNN: The Trump team downplayed the Epstein files. Andrew’s arrest and other probes show how rash that was.