Welcome back to The Cover-Up! Glad you’re with us to follow the latest developments and collectively turn information into justice.
Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have waited decades for someone with real power to hold his circle accountable. On Nov. 3, voters gave Democrats that power.
In January, Democrats will take over the House committees with the power to subpoena records and put witnesses under oath. On election night, the incoming Oversight chairman, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), had a two-word message for those who might face scrutiny: “Lawyer up.”
Leon Black already has. The day after the election, the billionaire sued Garcia for defamation, seeking $7.25 million in damages. He claims Garcia falsely tied him to Epstein’s crimes and insists he knew nothing about them. But an outside review commissioned by Apollo, the firm Black co-founded, found that he paid Epstein $158 million between 2012 and 2017, years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction involving a minor. This fall, the House voted to hold Black in contempt after he defied Oversight subpoenas. Read Jackie Appel’s report.
The Justice Department is next. A report by House Judiciary Democrats compiles accounts from 11 women, five of whom allege that President Donald Trump raped or sexually assaulted them in Epstein’s presence or close company. The report also says that Todd Blanche, now attorney general, repeatedly stopped Ghislaine Maxwell from discussing a survivor during their July 2025 prison interview. That survivor told the FBI that Epstein introduced her to Trump when she was 14. The White House says “none of these allegations are true.”
Blanche once insisted there was no “tranche of super-secret documents” being withheld. A CBS News investigation suggests otherwise, finding classified material on an FBI list of Epstein items and evidence that tens of thousands of pages are missing. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) told COURIER that Democrats will pursue impeachment if Blanche keeps obstructing. “We have all the receipts,” she said. Read more.
Voters have already sent a message. In Maine, Kansas, Iowa and Georgia, candidates who backed releasing the files beat Republicans who voted to block release or only changed their position under pressure. See every race on our scorecard.
Winning a majority is one thing. Delivering justice is another. Here’s what accountability must look like:
Every page required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, with every redaction explained
Witnesses questioned under oath, with no pass for anyone who stonewalled the last Congress
Unredacted files made available to state prosecutors through the Epstein Files Transparency Act II
An independent special counsel
Survivors at the center of the investigation, with their names protected instead of the powerful men who harmed them
We’ll hold this majority to its promises the same way we held the last one accountable for its record.
Keep following the record
Contradictions Tracker: what the Epstein class said vs. what the files show
Coverage + Accountability: everyone we’re tracking and where they stand now
Search the files yourself: more than 1.2 million documents
Below the Beltway: Camaron Stevenson’s weekly reporting from the Hill
American Freakshow: Nina Burleigh and Katie Chenoweth on MAGA extremism, every Tuesday
Who believes Blanche?