On February 15, 2026, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Congressional leaders stating the Department of Justice had released all records related to Jeffrey Epstein as mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Trump signed into law in November 2025. The letter included a list of over 300 "government officials and politically exposed persons" whose names appear at least once in the files, ranging from President Trump and former presidents to celebrities, business leaders, and members of Congress. The DOJ stated no records were withheld based on "embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity."
The list includes figures with vastly different relationships to Epstein — some with documented contact, others mentioned only in passing in emails or news clippings. It includes deceased individuals like Janis Joplin (died 1970), Marilyn Monroe (died 1962), and Kurt Cobain, as well as lawmakers who led efforts to release the files, including Reps. Ro Khanna, Thomas Massie, Nancy Mace, and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The DOJ acknowledged names appear "in a wide variety of contexts" and that some were mentioned in documents "unrelated to the Epstein and Maxwell matters."
Bipartisan lawmakers immediately disputed the DOJ's claim of full compliance. Representatives Khanna, Massie, Mace, and Greene all argued that significant redactions remain and that the DOJ's legal justifications (work product privilege, deliberative process privilege) do not apply to concluded investigations. Multiple lawmakers noted that hundreds of pages remain completely blacked out in the database. The controversy centers on whether the DOJ has genuinely released all relevant information or is using technical compliance to obscure continued withholding of names and context.