House Democrats have launched an investigation and are urging the Justice Department to immediately open its own probe after Elon Musk publicly claimed that President Donald Trump is named in the sealed files of convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
“Elon Musk says Trump is in the Epstein files. That’s the real reason they haven’t been made public,” Musk posted Thursday on X. He followed it up by calling for Trump’s impeachment—a move even many Democrats have so far avoided.
The post set off alarm bells in Congress. Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel demanding answers. “We ask that you immediately clarify whether this allegation is true,” they wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Axios.
Lynch and Garcia are senior Democrats on key House committees overseeing federal secrets and government transparency. They want a clear timeline for the release of all Epstein-related documents, an explanation for why no new files have been made public since February, and a detailed account of who is deciding what gets released.
They also want to know what role Trump may have played in reviewing the files. According to the letter, Musk’s claim “implies that the President may be involved in determining which files should be released and whether files will be withheld from the public if he personally chooses.”
Democrats say the secrecy around these documents, especially if it’s protecting a president, is unacceptable. “Any attempts to prevent the appropriate release of the Epstein files to shield the President from truth and accountability merits intense scrutiny by Congress and by the Department of Justice,” the lawmakers wrote.
Trump’s past ties to Epstein are well-documented. The two were photographed together multiple times in the 1990s and early 2000s and were known to socialize in elite circles. Though Trump has since distanced himself, speculation about his connection to Epstein has never fully gone away.
Back in February, Bondi’s office released over 100 pages from the Epstein case, claiming it was part of a broader push for transparency. But most of the documents were heavily redacted, raising more questions than answers. Even Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who leads the House task force on declassification, accused Bondi of “stonewalling” efforts to release more information.
“We agree with their conclusion that the release of these documents is long overdue,” Lynch and Garcia wrote, backing Luna’s demand for fuller disclosure.
Now, with Musk throwing gasoline on an already burning issue, Democrats want to know if Trump’s name is in those sealed files—and if that’s why the public still hasn’t seen them.
So far, the FBI has declined to comment on the matter. The White House and Department of Justice have not responded to requests for comment either.
