House Judiciary Committee Democrats are calling on the Justice Department to appoint an independent special counsel. The counsel would investigate evidence of President Donald Trump's alleged criminal ties to Jeffrey Epstein. The party made the demand in a staff report made public Monday 1.
"There is more than sufficient evidence to launch a criminal investigation," the Democrats wrote in the report 1. These are allegations made in a partisan staff report. They are not findings by a court or prosecutors.
What the report says
The report accuses the Justice Department of obstructing investigations into possible Epstein co-conspirators, including, Democrats say, Trump. It says Attorney General Todd Blanche, once Trump's personal lawyer, is compromised and cannot oversee such a probe 1.
Common Dreams, which reviewed the 53-page report, says it suggests Blanche may have engaged in "witness tampering and obstruction of an official proceeding." That claim centers on a 2025 conversation between Blanche and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's convicted accomplice 2. The report also lists 11 women who connect Trump to Epstein. Five of them accuse Trump of rape or sexual assault, according to Common Dreams 2.
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The report draws on staff interviews with witnesses and on files the Justice Department released about Epstein 1. Those files came out under a bipartisan law signed last November, and Trump is mentioned in them thousands of times 1.
The women who survived Epstein deserve to be heard, Congress must have the complete files required by law, and an independent special counsel must investigate Epstein's co-conspirators and DOJ's cover-up and ensure that state and foreign prosecutors have the evidence they need to pursue justice
The White House response
The president has repeatedly denied knowing about or being involved in Epstein's crimes. He has said he cut ties with Epstein well before the sex trafficking allegations became public 1.
White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis dismissed the report as an attempt by Democrats to distract Americans. She added that Trump removed Epstein from his club at Mar-a-Lago 1. The Justice Department did not respond to NBC News' request for comment Sunday evening 1.
What happens next
Democrats acknowledge the Justice Department is unlikely to name a special counsel. The report says there is "little reason to believe this administration will take even this minimal step" 1. It says Congress must keep using its oversight powers 1.
Those powers are limited today. Democrats are in the minority and cannot issue subpoenas, which are legal orders to produce witnesses or documents, without Republican help. Republicans have been largely unwilling to look deeper into Trump's ties to Epstein 1.
That would change if Democrats win a chamber of Congress in the Nov. 3 midterm election. They could then issue subpoenas on their own, and Democratic leaders have also promised investigations into alleged corruption in Trump's administration and family businesses 1.
That matters because the report shows where a Democratic House might start in January. It arrives as Trump's approval rating falls over the economy, affordability and the Iran war 1. Epstein was charged in 2019 and died by suicide in jail. Maxwell is the only person convicted in the case, and no one else has been charged in the United States 1.
The Record
Sources
- NBC News, “House Democrats call on DOJ to name special counsel in Epstein case” (2026-10-26). nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-democrats-call-doj-name-
- Common Dreams, “DOJ 'Appears to Be Covering Up' Trump-Epstein Connections, Dems Say in New Report” (2026-10-26). commondreams.org/news/epstein-trump-connection-report
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