A pair of US lawmakers have threatened legal action against US Attorney General Pam Bondi, after her deadline to release all government files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was met only in part.
The release of the Department of Justice (DoJ) documents was highly anticipated but in the end, only a portion of the available material was made public.
A leading campaigner on the issue, Republican congressman Thomas Massie, said he could try to bring contempt proceedings against the attorney general as a result.
The DoJ insists it is complying with its legal obligations, and Bondi herself has said she is part of the most transparent administration in American history.
The Epstein files refer to the trove of information amassed by the US justice department during its two criminal investigations into Epstein.
A law that compelled the release of the full trove was signed by US President Donald Trump in November, after pressure from his supporters and members of his own Republican Party. Friday was the deadline for the release of the material.
Although some material was released, there were many redactions and other information withheld, angering Massie and his allies, as well as survivors of Epstein's abuse. Trump himself has yet to comment.
The DoJ has said that more material will follow in the coming weeks.
But speaking to CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, Massie suggested that the justice department was flouting the spirit and the letter of the law.
Massie stated that the quickest way to achieve justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi, which does not require going through the courts.
Massie added that he and Democratic congressman Ro Khanna are discussing and drafting the contempt measures, which would impose fines on Bondi for each day the documents are not released.
Bondi's deputy Todd Blanche dismissed congressional threats, asserting that they were compliant with the law. He emphasized the weighty task of reviewing potentially millions of pages of documents and reassured that compliance will continue, even if it occurs over several weeks.
He also mentioned that some non-critical Epstein-related files were removed due to concerns from victims, with some, such as an image featuring Trump, later reinstated after review.
In contrast, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine urged a more strategic approach to compel compliance with legal obligations rather than resorting to contempt or impeachment efforts, which he deemed premature.
