General Discussion

Biden’s administration emphasized maintaining the independence of the Department of Justice (DOJ), avoiding political interference in legal matters. Decisions about the Epstein files were likely left to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the DOJ, which may have determined that releasing additional files wasn’t warranted without new actionable evidence. This aligns with Biden’s approach to avoid using the DOJ for political purposes, unlike what some critics expected.

[Rep. Lois] Frankel told PolitiFact in an Aug. 1 [2020 - while Trump was President] interview that the House oversight committee wanted to hold a hearing at which they would hear from Epstein victims, their lawyers and prosecutors. They wanted to subpoena the prosecutors to ask them under oath "why they gave this guy a slap on the wrist, who pressured them?" Frankel said.

However, "We were told by the Justice Department to cut it off" because it could compromise the Maxwell investigation, Frankel told PolitiFact.

After Biden took office in 2021, Democrats appeared to dial back their public calls for Epstein records’ release.

"Pushes for oversight and record releases were at times tempered by a need to respect both the victims’ pursuit of justice in courts and their fears of reprisals," Wasserman Schultz told PolitiFact. "As disclosures were denied or delayed, we did what lawmakers do and legislated to protect future victims."