WASHINGTON — Key records related to an allegation of sexual assault against President Donald Trump are missing from a trove of documents released by the Justice Department concerning convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a review of the files and statements from lawmakers.
The missing materials consist of FBI memos summarizing interviews conducted in 2019 with a woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted by both Trump and Epstein decades earlier, when she was a minor. While an index released with the documents indicated that the FBI conducted four interviews and created summaries for each, only one summary – detailing her accusations against Epstein – was made public. The other three interview summaries, along with the underlying interview notes, are not included in the released files.
The Justice Department initially stated that withheld materials were either privileged or duplicates. In a subsequent statement, the department likewise cited “an ongoing federal investigation” as a reason for withholding some documents, but did not directly address the absence of the memos pertaining to the woman’s allegations against Trump.
The woman came forward in July 2019, shortly after Epstein’s arrest on sex-trafficking charges, claiming repeated assaults by Epstein in the 1980s. According to the released FBI interview summary from July 24, 2019, she identified Epstein from a photograph and alleged that he introduced her to Trump, who then sexually assaulted her in a violent encounter when she was between 13 and 15 years old. The FBI did not assess the credibility of her accusation in the released documents.
An examination of serial numbers on the released pages suggests that more than 50 pages of investigative materials related to her claims are missing, according to reporting by journalist Roger Sollenberger and NPR.
Representative Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, stated that unredacted versions of the Epstein files he reviewed at the Justice Department also lacked the interview summaries related to the woman’s claims. “Documents that are listed, which should be included, which are referenced in other documents, are not in the files,” Garcia said. He added that the Justice Department has not provided a satisfactory explanation for the missing materials. Democrats on the committee plan to launch a separate investigation into the matter.
During the July 2019 interview, the woman stated she did not know Epstein’s full identity until a friend showed her a photograph of him. She recognized him as the person who had repeatedly assaulted her. Agents took a photograph of the image, at her lawyer’s request, cropping out Trump given that the woman “was concerned about implicating additional individuals, and specifically any that were well known, due to fear of retaliation,” according to the FBI memo.
The woman later joined a lawsuit against Epstein’s estate but subsequently dropped her claim. Court records indicate she was deemed ineligible for compensation from a fund established for Epstein’s victims, though the reason was not specified.
The release of the Epstein files was mandated by a law signed by Trump in 2023 following bipartisan congressional pressure. The law allows for redactions to protect victims, depict violence, or safeguard ongoing investigations, but explicitly prohibits withholding materials based on “embarrassment, reputational harm or political sensitivity” to public figures. Some lawmakers and survivors of Epstein’s abuse have criticized the Justice Department’s handling of redactions, citing instances where victim identities were exposed and nude photographs were released, while materials related to allegations against other men were heavily redacted.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson stated that Trump “has been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein.”
The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena for all of the Justice Department’s investigative material regarding Epstein, but has not yet received the complete set of documents.
