Jayapal, Raskin, Garcia Demand DOJ End Its Outrageous Secret Surveillance of Members Reviewing Epstein Files
Washington, D.C. (February 13, 2026)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, and Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, are demanding that the Department of Justice (DOJ) immediately cease its attempt to obstruct and intimidate Members of Congress by covertly monitoring their searches of the slightly-less-redacted Epstein files.
At an oversight hearing this week with the House Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Pam Bondi was photographed with a document entitled ‘Jayapal Pramila Search History’ that contained a list of unredacted Epstein files Rep. Jayapal reviewed at DOJ a day prior. This photograph revealed that DOJ had secretly accessed and analyzed Members’ search histories and used that information to prepare Attorney General Bondi to launch partisan attacks instead of answering oversight questions.
“This surveillance of Members as we perform our constitutional oversight duties, done without our knowledge or consent, is a blatant violation of the separation of powers and further evidence that this DOJ will stop at nothing to protect Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s co-conspirators, accomplices, and enablers while denying justice to survivors and the American people,” wrote the Ranking Members.
DOJ’s Office of Legislative Affairs organized the file review process under false pretenses, disclosing only that it would log Members’ dates and times of access—while concealing any plan to track searches and document views in detail. In a letter authorizing the review of unredacted materials, DOJ made no mention that Members’ search histories would be tracked, recorded, or disseminated for any purpose.
More than a dozen Democratic Members, as well as Rep. Thomas Massie, have reviewed the files and may also have been subjected to DOJ surveillance. Even Republican Speaker Mike Johnson condemned the practice, stating that it is “not appropriate for anybody to be tracking” Members’ review of documents.
The surveillance marks a broader pattern by this DOJ of obstructing congressional oversight of the Epstein matter. Members are required to travel to a DOJ annex, use a limited number of DOJ-controlled computers, navigate cumbersome software, and review files under the watch of DOJ staff. Congressional staff are barred from assisting and have even been prohibited from entering the building.
With only four computers available for Members’ review, the lawmakers warn it would take more than seven years for Members to review the more than three million Epstein-related pages DOJ has partially released—while millions more pages remain fully withheld or heavily redacted.
The Members are demanding a meeting with Attorney General Bondi to develop a new protocol that allows Members of Congress to meaningfully review the fully unredacted documents—including by giving access to review terminals on the Capitol Complex and access for select Committee staffers. They are also demanding that DOJ (1) publicly release all files—with all the survivors’ information, and only the survivors’ information, properly redacted—as required by law and (2) provide information regarding the purpose and extent of the surveillance of Members.
“The American people and federal law demand nothing less,” the Ranking Members concluded.
Click here to read the letter.
Issues: Government Reform & Ethics