Rep. Madeleine Dean Confronts Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche Over Three Million Epstein Files

US Representative Madeleine Dean challenged Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche over what Dean described as three million additional Epstein-related documents at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday, 2 June 2026. She questioned why records she said she had seen at the Department of Justice were not available to the public.

The exchange followed the department's release of more than three million additional pages related to Jeffrey Epstein. Dean disputed Blanche's claim that it had complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act and linked the records dispute to President Donald Trump's denial that he had flown on Epstein's plane.

Dean Presses Blanche on the Epstein Files

In the hearing streamed online, Blanche told Dean, 'As I said to you when we spoke before, we have complied with the law.' Dean interrupted to say there were three million more documents. Recalling an earlier discussion, she quoted him as saying they were duplicative and included 'another guy named Epstein'.

The figures describe separate parts of the dispute. More than three million pages had already been released, according to the account of the hearing, while Dean was referring to a further three million documents whose status she challenged. It remains unclear how many are duplicates or already public.

Dean focused on a practical question about access. She asked why numerous unredacted records could be viewed by members of Congress only at the DOJ when the files were supposed to 'be made publicly available'. Blanche responded that the material was available to the public. Dean, whose allotted time had expired, held up notes from her visits to the department.

Her objection concerned what the public could inspect, rather than simply the number released. The account does not identify every file she saw or say whether redacted versions were published.

Epstein Files Renew Questions About Trump's Flights

Dean then accused Trump of falsely denying that he had travelled on Epstein's aircraft. 'What is true is that the president has lied about being on Epstein's plane, and the unredacted files prove that,' she said. That is Dean's allegation, and the hearing account does not reproduce the records she was citing.

In a 2024 Truth Social post responding to AI-generated images circulating online, Trump denied being aboard Epstein's plane or visiting his island.

He described the story about their connection as fabricated with artificial intelligence, writing, 'This is A.I., and it is very dangerous for our Country!' His separate denial concerning Epstein's island is not addressed by the flight logs described in the report.

Reuters reported that an unidentified prosecutor's email dated 7 January 2020 described flight records showing Trump aboard Epstein's private jet eight times in the 1990s. The email said the number was 'many more times than previously has been reported'.

It also said Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's close associate, was present on at least four of those flights. The account does not provide the complete logs, and being listed on a flight does not itself establish involvement in Epstein's crimes.

Dean also asked why the department had not prosecuted others over Epstein's crimes. Blanche maintained that the department had met its obligation to release the files. Dean's time expired before he identified which of the records she had examined at the DOJ the public could see.