Schumer calls for FBI assessment on Epstein files potential security threats

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has called on the FBI to conduct a counterintelligence threat assessment on the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Schumer said on the Senate floor on Tuesday that the FBI assessment should accomplish three things: determine if foreign intelligence agencies could gain access to the information “the president does not want to release in the Epstein files, through methods that include cyber intrusion;” identify any vulnerabilities that could be exploited by foreign intelligence agencies with access to non-public information in the Epstein files, “including being able to gain leverage over Donald Trump, his family, or other senior government officials;” and result in the FBI publicly showing that the bureau is “developing mitigation strategies to counter these threats and safeguard our national security.” 

At his weekly Democratic leadership press conference afterward, Schumer condemned what he categorized as the Epstein “cover-up,” further taking aim at President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

“Trump promised he’d release the Epstein files while he was on the campaign trail, yet he has yet to do it,” Schumer told reporters. “Speaker Johnson quite literally preferred to shut down Congress, sending everyone home on an Epstein recess to avoid the topic. Americans are right to be angry over the lack of transparency, but there are also some very real questions about risks to national security.”

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“Given Trump’s total about-face on releasing files and given what we know from the FBI whistleblowers, it’s natural to ask, what happens if our adversaries use cyberattacks and other means to access files and materials into Epstein that are damaging or worse for President Trump and or those around him?” Schumer continued. “What happens if the Epstein files end up in the hands of Russia or North Korea, or Chinese governments? Unless the Epstein files are fully released to the public, could our adversaries use that, Epstein, to use that information to blackmail someone like the president? 

Last Thursday, Schumer noted, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human…