DOJ Withheld Epstein Files Alleging Trump Sexual Misconduct

Summary

Podcast Summary: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present

Episode: DOJ Withheld Epstein Files Alleging Trump Sexual Misconduct

Date: February 26, 2026
Host: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes tackle the latest bombshell in the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein saga: the revelation that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is missing three critical FBI files relating to allegations of sexual misconduct involving former President Donald Trump. These files stem from interviews with a woman who claims to have been abused by both Epstein and Trump when she was 13. The missing files have sparked outrage among Democrats, speculation about a potential cover-up, and official responses from both the DOJ and the White House. Amy and T.J. break down the facts, the political drama, and the broader implications.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Missing Epstein Files (02:32–04:20)

• T.J. Holmes introduces the episode’s topic: three FBI interviews with an alleged Epstein/Trump survivor are missing, causing outrage and political posturing.
• The allegations stem from a woman who claims to have been abused by Epstein and Trump as a teenager in the 1980s.
• The focus is on why only one of her four FBI interviews can be found, the other three having vanished.

Quote:
"The three files missing have to do with President Trump... and some pretty awful accusations being made by a woman."
— T.J. Holmes (02:36)

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2. Validity and Context of the Allegations (03:28–04:42)

• Amy clarifies: "These are claims. They're not substantiated... President Trump is not facing any criminal charges."
• Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
• The significance: this woman was interviewed four times by the FBI, which reporters say lends some credibility, yet three interviews are missing.
• Some claims say content from these missing interviews implicates Trump directly.

Quote:
"NPR... can actually tell there are missing numbers. They actually have serial numbers... and notably, those three documents are missing."
— Amy Robach (04:42)

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3. Congressional and Media Response (05:50–07:31)

• NPR and other media outlets have confirmed these specific files are missing via document serial numbers.
• Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA) and House Democrats are launching a new investigation — a parallel inquiry into not just the allegations, but why these FBI interviews are absent.
• Garcia claims he personally saw the missing documents and calls it evidence of a "cover-up".

Quote:
“There is definitely, in my opinion, evidence of a cover up happening. Why are these documents missing? These documents I personally saw.”
— Rep. Robert Garcia, relayed by Amy Robach (06:52)

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4. DOJ and White House Defenses (08:37–09:50; 16:03–17:09)

• The DOJ's official stance: All required documents were released; missing items were either duplicates, privileged, or part of ongoing investigations.
• DOJ promises to review if anything was "improperly tagged" and commit to releasing whatever is legally required.
• The White House echoes previous talking points, underscoring Trump’s cooperation and signing of the "Epstein Files Transparency Act", while shifting focus to Democrats’ own alleged Epstein ties.

Quote:
"They cannot not release documents just because it could publicly embarrass someone. That's not allowed."
— Amy Robach (09:42)

Quote:
"Just as President Trump has said, he's been totally exonerated... and by releasing thousands of pages of documents... has done more for Epstein's victims than anyone before him."
— White House statement, via Amy Robach (16:30)

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5. The Specific Allegations (17:29–18:32)

• Amy details the actual claim: The woman alleged Trump exposed himself, demanded a sexual act, and when rebuffed, assaulted her.
• The claims date back to 1983, and were brought forward in a 2019 interview after Epstein’s arrest.
• Amy and T.J. stress that being mentioned in these files is not evidence of guilt, and the claims remain unproven.

Quote:
"She says that he exposed himself to her and that he wanted her to perform a sexual act. When she didn't, she claims that he punched her in the head and kicked her out."
— Amy Robach (17:35)

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6. Political and Public Implications (07:31–08:37; 14:39–16:03; 18:32–end)

• The scandal fuels partisan accusations: Democrats push for accountability and transparency, while Republicans and the White House insist it’s political.
• T.J. urges listeners to beware of premature conclusions: "You have to be very, very careful when you’re talking about someone accusing the President…"
• The document trickle continues, with no end — or total transparency — in sight. Amy promises ongoing coverage as investigations advance.

Quote:
"It's a very delicate and very careful balance here... you’ve got to be very, very careful."
— T.J. Holmes (07:52)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the endless saga:
  "It's never going to be over, Robes. The Epstein files mess will never be over."
  — T.J. Holmes (14:40)

• On the politics of disclosure:
  "Every time they trickle out, somebody has a complaint. That's not everything. Or this name's not in there. Where’s the real list?"
  — T.J. Holmes (14:57)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Main story introduction: 02:32
• Details on interviews & missing files: 03:28 – 04:42
• Media and Congressional investigation: 05:50 – 07:31
• DOJ response: 08:37 – 09:50
• White House/Trump response: 16:03 – 17:09
• Specific claims against Trump: 17:29 – 18:32
• Discussion on next steps: 18:32 – end

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Episode Tone & Takeaways

• Tone: Serious, cautious, and sometimes incredulous; both hosts emphasize the need for careful skepticism and accurate reporting, even as the story is politically explosive and emotionally charged.
• Takeaway: The disappearance of these specific Epstein files creates legitimate concerns about transparency and accountability, regardless of one's political stance. While the allegations are unproven, the missing documents and the government’s handling of them keep the story alive and raise questions about justice and truth in the Epstein investigation.

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Note: This summary focuses solely on substantive content and omits ads, intros, and outros for clarity.

Transcript

[Amy Robach]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[TJ Holmes]

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[TJ Holmes]

Hey there folks. It is Thursday, February 26, and shocker. Some Epstein files are missing, but there are three in particular that are missing that has got Democrats seething. It's got the Trump administration defending and quite frankly, Robes. None of us should be surprised by this. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and tj. The three files missing have to do with President Trump robes and some pretty awful accusations being made by a woman.

[Amy Robach]

That's right. A woman who is now, yes, a woman, but claims these allegations of abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and yes, by President Trump, she claims happened when she was just 13 years old. So these are damning and disturbing allegations and made even more so by the fact that they are missing.

[TJ Holmes]

Okay, so we should start at the top with these are claims. They're not substantiated, and we don't have any idea about the credibility of them. And at this point, President Trump is not facing any criminal accusations. He's not facing any criminal charges. All right, we got that out of the way. He has forever denied any wrongdoing. However, Robes. Now let's go to why this is such a big deal. Epstein files. We know the troves of documents have been coming out. There are arguments about redactions and back and forth. And is everything out there? Fine, let's get away from all that for a second and just focus on this thing. A part of these files, Robes, was an interview done with a woman in 2019 who came forward after Epstein was arrested and said, oh, yeah, that's the guy who assaulted me when I was younger. She starts piecing things together. The FBI goes and interviews her. There are at least four interviews. We know that we're done with her. The FBI file on those four interviews. Well, three of them are missing, and we only get one. So, Robes, the focus is, why are those other three missing? And the implication is that she said something about Trump and those other three, and that's why it's missing. This is where we are.

[Amy Robach]

Yes, correct. And in addition to those three separate conversations, NPR did a whole investigation. You know, they have a slew of reporters, and they can actually tell there are missing numbers. They actually have serial numbers. And they can say, hey, there are missing sets of documents based on serial numbers going through all of this. And notably, those three documents are missing. Now, this woman claims that this assault happened in Hilton Head island when she was 13. And yes, the FBI did four separate interviews with her. And why that's important is right from reporters who have gone through all of these documents. For the FBI to go back to this woman three times after that initial interview suggests that there was Credibility to her story. They say that this is something significant. Now when you know that three of those interviews, which they claim, some people claim to have seen already because some of this was a part of discovery information in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial. This is all very confusing, but there are people who have seen these documents who can now say they existed. We know the contents of them and now they're missing. And the reason why they're missing, some folks claim, is because those contents contain significant and serious allegations against Trump.

[TJ Holmes]

So we don't know where they are, we don't know why they're missing. There could be a very simple explanation for this and oversight. Look, there's a lot of documents, we're talking about millions of documents and something isn't matching up right now and something is missing. To the point now, Rose, I couldn't believe this. The, the word investigation was being thrown around. They now want an investigation into why these are missing. This whole thing is an Epstein investigation. Now we're investigating the investigation.

[Amy Robach]

Yes, it's a, there, it's actually a parallel investigation. So Democrats on the House Oversight Committee who are heading up this Epstein investigation, they already have an investigation into those specific, specific allegations were referencing by that woman from South Carolina who claims this all happened when she was 13. But now they're adding a parallel investigation into why, yes, these files, these interviews, these memos and notes from FBI investigators are missing. And specifically we heard from California Representative Robert Garcia who spoke to reporters and he said there is definitely, in my opinion, evidence of a cover up happening. Why are these documents missing? These documents I personally saw. I know who the survivor is. The name is redacted in the doc in the manifest document. And there are documents missing from that same survivor that appeared to be interviews or conversations again with the FBI. The FBI clearly investigated and now those documents are gone.

[TJ Holmes]

I mean, yeah, here we are. Now, once again, we have to be careful here and be clear. This is of course, a lot of politics and a lot of back and forth and then you have a lot of folks on the other side, victims who are saying that, well, quite frankly, there are cover ups and there are other men who are implicated and folks who need to be held accountable. And a lot of people want to point at President Trump, however we need to. Again, this is something you ought to be very, very careful with when you're talking about someone accusing the President of the United States of one of some of the most heinous stuff you will ever hear. You gotta be careful in this. And I don't think Democrats care about being careful. But some of the things they are saying are suggestions and implications of something that Trump did. But frankly, there's no evidence of it. So it's just, it's a very delicate and very careful balance here with when Democrats are, hey, hey, something's missing. Must be something going on here. That's just a, that's just the headline, folks. Right now. Robes are running with that. You got to be very, very careful of in this case.

[Amy Robach]

Yes, because the Justice Department was very swift in their response, saying, as we have always said, all documents responsive were produced. Those not fall within one of the following categories. So this is the reason why they say certain documents weren't included in the document dump. If they fell into one of these categories, they were either duplicates, they were privileged, or they were part of an ongoing federal investigation. So they also said that in terms of specifically these missing files, they're reviewing the documents that were released in connection to the index. The point is, people point to the index, they can see these interviews occurred, they can see that there were documents prod and then they're missing. So they say the department said it will publish any documents that may now be found to have been improperly tagged in the review process that are legally required to be made public. So they, they're going back, they say, and they're going to reassess what they chose not to include based on those categories. And that's it. Because they cannot not release documents just because it could publicly embarrass someone. That's not allowed.

[TJ Holmes]

The Epstein files mess continues. We are hearing from the White House. You know they had something to say about this. Stay here. We'll explain how the administration is responding to these new missing claims. Stay here.

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[TJ Holmes]

All right, folks, we continue here on this Amy and TJ on this Thursday, February 26th, with It's Never going to be over Robes. It's never the Epstein files mess with will never be over. We're in the middle of it again. I don't even remember the date when they were all supposed to be out. Last November, was it? Or December, all the five. Yeah, it was December. Why do I have 19th in my head? All the files were supposed to be out by that day. They've been trickling out, trickling out, trickling out. And every time they trickle out, somebody has a complaint. That's not everything. Or this name's not in there and where's the real list and all of these things. So here we go once again, robed. And we shouldn't be surprised. There are news organizations have figured out there are certain documents that are missing. There are plenty of documents that are probably missing and haven't been put out there. These, though, have to do specifically with the President of the United States and some pretty horrific accusations, at least that were made by a woman back in 2019 having to do with her saying she was sexually assaulted by Epstein repeatedly and by President Trump, not president then, but this was back in the 80s. But the interviews that the FBI did in which she laid out these accusations, the details of those interviews as laid out by the FBI in memos, those memos, those documents of those interviews are missing. And this is where we are today. Robes in the White House, of course, had something to say about this.

[Amy Robach]

They certainly did. So here was the official White House response. They initially referred folks back to their previous statement, basically saying that if anything was found to be unfounded or not credible and certainly potentially something released specifically leading up to the 2020 election, that is the reason why perhaps they weren't being released because they were found to be not credible. But this latest response was indirect response to the missing files. Just as President Trump has said, he's been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein. And by releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee subpoena request, signing the Epstein Files Transparency act, and calling for more investigation into Epstein's Democrat friends, President Trump has done more for Epstein's victims than anyone before him. Meanwhile, Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries and Stacey Plaskett have yet to explain why they were soliciting money and meetings from Epstein after he was already a convicted sex offender.

[TJ Holmes]

Okay, we, we probably all could have written that ourselves. We've heard that line from the White House and understandably so. I think Pliny will take issue with him doing more for Epstein survivors than anybody else. But, but yes, they put that out. And again, the President has always maintained and he has never been accused of any criminal wrong doing having to do

[Amy Robach]

with Epstein, not by any certainly official here. But this, this particular woman and NPR did post what, what the allegation specifically was that she claims happened to her. And she says that she was, she was, he exposed himself to her and that he wanted her to perform a sexual act. When she didn't, she claims that he punched her in the head and kicked her out. That is what she is claiming. That is what was in these documents. And look, people can make plenty of accusations. It doesn't mean they're true. It doesn't mean they've been found to be credible. And so that is the question why they wouldn't be included if the FBI, the investigators, people who conducted these four interviews with this woman, again, many, many, many years later, this was all alleged to have happened back in 1983. So it's, it's fair that there are plenty of accusations thrown out in this case and plenty are not true. You know, that's, that's the problem here. And so many people's names, just by being mentioned in these files doesn't necessarily mean they did anything wrong.

[TJ Holmes]

Where does this go from here?

[Amy Robach]

Well, the Democrats aren't going to let this go. They already held press conferences about this yesterday. And yes, these investigations will continue by Democrats in the House Oversight Committee wanting answers and they are going to push for answers about where these missing documents are and why they were not included in this latest document dump. And the DOJ will perhaps put out another statement, perhaps not. But this investigation will continue and of course we will follow any developments. So we will of course stay on top of this story. It feels as though there are Epstein related headlines daily, multiple times a day actually dropping here. So we will of course keep our eye on all of that for you. But thank you in the meantime for joining us. Morning Run is coming up in just a bit, so look for that in your feed. I'm Amy Robach alongside TJ Holmes and we will talk to you soon.

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