Chuck Schumer Invokes Rare 'Rule Of Five' Law To Compel DOJ To Release Epstein Files

Forbes Breaking News

During remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke about Senate Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee invoking the Rule of Five law to compel the Department of Justice to release the Epstein Files.

Transcript

00:00Now I come to the floor this morning with some news. Today Senate Democrats take

00:05additional action to try and uncover the truth about the Epstein files. This

00:10morning I join all of my Democratic colleagues on the Homeland Security and

00:14Government Affairs Committee in invoking a century-old law known as the Rule of

00:19Five to compel the Department of Justice to release the full and complete Epstein

00:26files, which to date, of course, they have refused to be transparent about. Under

00:32federal law, when any five senators on the Homeland Security and Government

00:36Affairs Committee call on the executive branch to release investigative documents,

00:40they must comply. Our request covers all documents, files, evidence, or other

00:47materials in the possession of the Department of Justice or the FBI related

00:51to the case of United States versus Jeffrey Epstein. This includes records

00:56and documents related to Epstein and his clients, while ensuring that the private

01:01information of any victims is protected. We expect the Trump administration to

01:06provide these documents by August the 15th. The situation with the Epstein files

01:12is very simple. Donald Trump promised transparency and he has broken that

01:16promise. As a candidate, Trump said on many occasions he would release the Epstein

01:22files if elected, and yet he has refused to do so. Over the past few months, FBI

01:29Director Cash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi said they would ensure

01:35transparency and release the documents, but they have not done so. And five months

01:40later, we have zero answers, only a slew of denials. Donald Trump was asked earlier

01:47this month if he ever had been informed whether or not he was mentioned in the

01:51Epstein files, and now we know he lied. He said no, but in fact he was told by the

01:58Attorney General in May that he was mentioned. And when the House of

02:04Representatives had an opportunity this month to take a vote on the Epstein files,

02:09Speaker Johnson sent everyone scrambling home on an Ep on an Epstein

02:15recess, adjourning the House early. The pattern is undeniable. Every single time

02:22Donald Trump or his administration or Republican leaders have had a chance to

02:26be transparent about the Epstein files, they have chosen to hide. The President's

02:31refusal to be straight with the American people is very disturbing. His rather

02:36desperate sounding evasions are frankly odd. He'll release the Martin Luther King

02:41files, which no one asked for. He'll accuse President Obama of treason. He'll say

02:46one wild thing after another, but he won't touch the Epstein topic with a ten-foot

02:53poll. It begs the question, if there's nothing to hide, why all the evasiveness? So today,

03:02Senate Democrats take action. We're invoking federal law and using our

03:08authority as a check on the executive to compel transparency. I urge Republicans to

03:14stand up for the oversight powers of Congress and join us in calling for more

03:17transparency on the Epstein files. Because once there is transparency, we can

03:23have the truth, and so can the American people. Donald Trump should stop hiding from

03:29the truth. He should stop hiding from the American people.

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