New York Attorney General Letitia James and 16 other state attorneys general are urging Congress to give survivors and state law enforcement a way to challenge the federal government's handling of records tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
The attorneys general's Oct. 15 letter backs the Epstein Files Transparency Act II, a proposed follow-up to a law requiring the U.S. Department of Justice to make the records public. The coalition says the department has withheld material, made excessive redactions and exposed victims' personal information in records it did release.
The first transparency law required the Justice Department to make covered files available by Dec. 19, 2025. In their letter, the attorneys general point to a federal court's statement in Phang v. Blanche that the U.S. attorney general conceded a violation of that requirement.
The coalition says millions of documents remain withheld, often under claims of legal privilege. It also cites reporting that identified the personal information of at least 43 victims in released files. The letter argues that state prosecutors need access to unredacted investigative records, including FBI reports, to pursue matters within their jurisdictions.
What the proposal would change
The proposed law would let state attorneys general, other authorized state officials, victims and members of Congress bring an expedited federal lawsuit over Epstein-related records they say were unlawfully withheld, delayed or heavily redacted. Survivors would also gain access to unredacted records about themselves and the harms they suffered.
It would bar the Justice Department from using common-law privileges, including the deliberative-process privilege, to avoid the disclosure requirements. Federal officials who knowingly concealed, destroyed or improperly withheld required files could face existing federal penalties under the proposal. None of these changes is in force unless Congress passes the bill.
James said the original law was intended to provide accountability but that the federal administration had not released records as required. The letter, addressed to leaders of both parties in the House and Senate, calls for swift passage of the second bill.
The coalition includes attorneys general from 17 states, including New York.
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