Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are calling on the Department of Justice to appoint an independent counsel to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal network, and say they will impeach Attorney General Todd Blanche if he fails to do so.
Blanche is seen by many in Congress as a “fixer” for President Donald Trump, going to great lengths to shut down any meaningful investigation into Epstein or his co-conspirators. It was Blanche who closed the federal investigation into Epstein in 2025, and has repeatedly claimed that, despite identifying more than 1,000 victims, there isn’t enough evidence to prosecute anyone other than Epstein — who is dead — and his convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Blanche has also refused to appear at congressional hearings to answer questions about Epstein.
That could change in January if Democrats take control of the House. Democratic members have been frustrated by their Republican counterparts’ refusal to subpoena Blanche and others connected to Epstein’s criminal network, and plan to prioritize Epstein-related investigations in both the House and the Senate. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) sits on the Judiciary Committee, and said that further obstruction by Blanche will be met with articles of impeachment.
“Todd Blanche is super sus — cannot be trusted. What we can do is, subpoena him and force him to come to the hearings. He has not come to one Judiciary hearing under this last term,” Kamlager-Dove told COURIER. “We have all the receipts. We present all the receipts. We show that he is unqualified, incompetent, and essentially still working as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer and not the top lawyer for the American people. Then, you can have conversations about impeachment.”
The demand for an independent counsel came as part of a 50-page report released by the committee detailing President Donald Trump’s history with Epstein. In it, congressional investigators connect eyewitness accounts from 11 women, including three who had not previously come forward, that allege the president had a close relationship with the deceased sex trafficker, and that he sexually abused girls and women that Epstein brought to him.
Among the women named in the report is Swiss model Beatrice Keul, who had not previously come forward. Keul came to the US in 1993 to participate in the Donald Trump American Dream Pageant, a competition for 16- to 22-year-olds. While there, she claims Trump approached her, offering to get her into NYU and arrange for her to obtain a visa. Epstein later appeared and backed up Trump’s promises, assuring Keul they could provide whatever she needed.
Later that day, Keul was invited to meet with Trump to discuss her future. Instead, she alleges he forcibly raped her and made her promise not to tell anyone.
“Trump has been accused by at least eight women of engaging in assault or other improper behavior in connection with Jeffrey Epstein,” the report states. “Epstein and Trump also each had a sexual relationship with at least three other young women, at the time when Epstein’s criminal activity was at its height. Together, these accounts reveal a darkly competitive relationship between the two men centered on taking advantage of women, especially aspiring models eager to break into the realm of New York fashion.”
Prosecutors found the testimonies of many of the women who accused Trump reliable enough to use in the successful prosecution of Maxwell, but that’s where their utility appears to have ended. The report spends 15 pages providing excruciating detail on the administration’s efforts to cover up allegations against the president, including shutting down all investigations into anyone related to Epstein in order to protect Trump.
The report also outlines how, under Trump, Attorney General Todd Blanche is obstructing investigations in the United Kingdom and New Mexico. In both instances, Blanche has refused to share case files with investigators. The DOJ has also admitted to withholding at least 3 million records from the public, a direct violation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
The solution, according to congressional Democrats, is to appoint an independent special counsel to do two things: investigate what’s in the Epstein Files and pursue prosecutions of co-conspirators, while also investigating what they describe as “the Trump Administration’s shameful, bureaucratic, and political cover-up.”
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