Senate Minority Leader Schumer Announces Lawsuit in Epstein Case
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Monday morning he is introducing a resolution to force the Senate to take legal action against the Justice Department for refusing to release Epstein's complete files.
“I am introducing a resolution directing the Senate to initiate legal action against the Department of Justice for its flagrant disregard of the law in refusing to release Epstein's complete files,” Schumer wrote on social media. “The American people deserve full transparency, and Senate Democrats will use every tool at our disposal to ensure it. This administration cannot be allowed to hide the truth.”
Key events
Members of Congress have criticized CBS' eleventh-hour decision to shut down a fully published 60 Minutes investigation into Trump deportees sent to the notorious Sekot prison in El Salvador.
Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz called it “a terrible shame,” writing on X that “if executives think they can improve shareholder value by avoiding journalism that might offend the Mad King, they're about to learn a hard lesson. This is still America, and we don't like that kind of crap.”
Rhode Island spokesman Seth Magaziner said: “Most of the men sent to Sekot had no criminal records. Some had never even entered the US illegally (like Andry Hernandez Romero – look him up). If the Trump administration can put these people in a torture prison without due process, they can do it to anyone. That's the truth they don't want to tell.”
California spokeswoman Doris Matsui tied the cancellation directly to CBS parent Paramount's upcoming merger with Skydance, which requires Trump administration approval:
“This is what happens when broadcasters give in to political pressure,” she said. “CBS releasing a fully covered 60 Minutes segment just 2 hours before airing – while Paramount is pursuing a merger that requires Trump administration approval – is a textbook example of self-censorship.”
In an email, Alfonsi wrote:
“If the standard for airing an article is 'the government must agree to an interview,' then the government will effectively have control of 60 Minutes.”
These people risked their lives to talk to us. We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrust us with their materials. To abandon them now is a betrayal of the most basic principle of journalism: giving a voice to the voiceless.”
CBS' Bari Weiss presented a 60 Minutes segment on CECOT
It is reported that Bari Weiss killed CBS 60 Minutes investigation at CECOT prison in El Salvador just three hours before it was set to air on Sunday night because the White House refused to grant an interview.
IN email to colleaguesCorrespondent Sharyn Alfonsi criticized the decision, saying the story about Trump's deportees had been fully vetted and “canceling it now, after all the rigorous internal checks have been done, is not an editorial decision, but a political one.” Alfonsi said Weiss did not discuss the decision to run the story with them.
She warned that CBS had effectively provided the government with a “kill switch” for inconvenient reporting. The story was replaced by another passage about classical musicians.
Read more about this story from my colleagues here:
Senate Minority Leader Schumer Announces Lawsuit in Epstein Case
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Monday morning he is introducing a resolution to force the Senate to take legal action against the Justice Department for refusing to release Epstein's complete files.
“I am introducing a resolution directing the Senate to initiate legal action against the Department of Justice for its flagrant disregard of the law in refusing to release Epstein's complete files,” Schumer wrote on social media. “The American people deserve full transparency, and Senate Democrats will use every tool at our disposal to ensure it. This administration cannot be allowed to hide the truth.”
Other reactions from legislators after the document was released:
Ahead of the weekend, the Oversight Committee's top Democrat, Robert Garcia, and the Judiciary Committee's top Democrat, Jamie Raskin, announced they were exploring all legal options following a heavily redacted document dump they said violated federal law.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused the administration of deliberately hiding the truth. and said Senate Democrats will work with victims' advocates to determine what exactly is being withheld.
Before the deadline, five lawmakers from both parties, including Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, had already written to Bondi asking for a briefing on compliance plans.
And on Friday night, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted on social media, “Bondi must resign tonight” and “Everyone involved in this will have to answer for this.”
After slowly releasing the Epstein files and failing to retract them all by the Dec. 19 deadline, Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie are moving toward punishment that will make Attorney General Pam Bondi feel his inherent contempt for Congress.
Appearing on CBS' Face The Nation on Sunday, Khanna said the move would penalize Bondi for every day she fails to release the documents and would only require House approval.
“We want the House of Representatives just for its inherent disrespect, and we're building a bipartisan coalition that will fine Pam Bondi for every day she doesn't release these documents,” he said.
The California Democrat added that he had spoken with survivors who were angry that the names of their rapists remained redacted while their own identities were inadvertently revealed, noting that 1,200 victims were still awaiting accountability.
