53 Pages Missing from DOJ Epstein Database: NPR Finds Gaps in Trump-Related FBI Interview Records

The Department of Justice has released more than 3.5 million pages of Epstein-related records under the Epstein Files Transparency Act since December 2025. That is a staggering volume of material. But it is what appears to be absent from the release that has triggered a bipartisan congressional investigation and raised questions about whether the DOJ complied with the law it was bound to follow.

On February 24, 2026, NPR published an investigation revealing that at least 53 pages of FBI interview summaries and notes are missing from the public Epstein database. The absent records are not random administrative omissions. They relate to two specific women who alleged that Jeffrey Epstein introduced them to Donald Trump, who then sexually abused them, when they were minors.

How NPR Found the Gap

NPR's methodology was straightforward but painstaking. Reporters examined multiple sets of unique serial numbers stamped onto documents across the Epstein files database, FBI case records, internal emails, and discovery document logs from the January 30, 2026 release. Every document in the DOJ system carries sequential tracking numbers. When those numbers skip, the gap signals that something was catalogued but not published.

NPR found three separate serial number sequences with unexplained jumps. One tracking number, which followed the documents tied to a specific accuser, skipped up by six. A third serial number jumped by 53. The pattern was consistent: the gaps aligned with records connected to allegations involving Trump.

This was not a matter of reading between the lines. The FBI's own "Serial Report" and a list of Non-Testifying Witness Material from the Ghislaine Maxwell case, both released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, confirmed the existence of the missing interviews. The records were catalogued. They were logged in discovery. They simply were not published.

The First Accuser: Four FBI Interviews, One Published

The first set of missing records involves a woman who alleged that around 1983, when she was approximately 13 years old, Epstein introduced her to Trump. According to the account contained in FBI files, Trump then forced the girl's head toward his exposed penis. She bit him. He punched her in the head and removed her from the room.

The FBI interviewed this woman four times. Only one of those interviews, conducted on July 24, 2019, appears in the public Epstein database. That single published interview does not mention Trump.

Of the 15 documents listed in a Maxwell discovery material log for this accuser, only seven appear in the public files. The missing eight include the three remaining interview summaries and the accompanying agent notes.

When the FBI reviewed the accuser's file internally, agents noted that a photograph she provided was a "widely distributed photograph" showing Epstein with Trump. Her attorney later explained that the photo had been cropped because the woman "was concerned about implicating additional individuals, and specifically any that were well known, due to fear of retaliation."

The Second Accuser: Mar-a-Lago at 13

A second woman, who became a key prosecution witness in the criminal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, described a separate set of encounters in six FBI interviews conducted between September 2019 and September 2021. She told agents that Epstein took her to Trump's Mar-a-Lago club when she was approximately 13 years old. The interview report states that "EPSTEIN told TRUMP, 'This is a good one, huh.'" Both men chuckled, and the girl "felt uncomfortable, but, at the time, was too young to understand why."

One of this woman's interviews was temporarily removed from the DOJ database after its initial publication on January 30 and then quietly republished on February 19, according to document metadata that NPR reviewed. An interview with her mother remains offline. An additional interview that contained a passing reference to Trump visiting Epstein's residence was also removed and later restored.

Not Redacted. Missing.

The distinction between redacted and missing is worth stating plainly. Thousands of documents in the Epstein database carry black bars over names, addresses, and identifying details. That is redaction. The documents exist in the public record. Their presence is visible. The 53 pages identified by NPR are not redacted. They do not appear at all. Their serial numbers indicate they were processed and catalogued, but the files themselves are absent from the public database.

This is the difference between a government saying "we have this, but you cannot see parts of it" and a government failing to acknowledge that "this" exists at all.

The DOJ's Response

Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in a February 14 letter to Congress that no records had been withheld "on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official."

DOJ spokeswoman Natalie Baldassarre told reporters that any unpublished documents are either privileged, duplicates, or related to an ongoing federal investigation. She said the department was working "around the clock" to address victim concerns and process additional redaction requests flagged for review.

When NPR asked the DOJ specifically about the 53 missing pages, the department declined to answer on the record. It did not confirm or deny the existence of the pages. It did not explain why the serial numbers appear in the catalogue without corresponding documents.

On February 26, after sustained reporting from NPR, CNN, and other outlets, the DOJ issued a statement acknowledging that "several individuals and news outlets have recently flagged files related to documents produced to Ghislaine Maxwell in discovery of her criminal case that they claim appear to be missing." The department said it would review the flagged documents and publish any that were improperly withheld.

Congress Responds

In a rare instance of bipartisan agreement, both the Republican chair and the Democratic ranking member of the House Oversight Committee have pledged to investigate.

Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who chairs the committee, said the panel was "looking into the accusation made by the NPR" and would work to "get a definitive answer on that." He acknowledged the uncertainty: "We don't know the answer to that. We know what the administration says."

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the committee's top Democrat, went further. Garcia said he had reviewed unredacted evidence logs and could "confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews" with the accuser. He called on Attorney General Bondi to explain the withholding, stating that "any further delay by the Department continues to deny justice to survivors."

The bipartisan nature of this inquiry is unusual. The Epstein Files Transparency Act itself passed the House by a vote of 427 to 1 and cleared the Senate by unanimous consent before Trump signed it into law on November 19, 2025. Both parties have political exposure on this subject. Neither appears willing to let the DOJ's handling of these particular records go unexamined.

What the Law Requires

The Epstein Files Transparency Act mandated that the attorney general "make publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format" all files pertaining to the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days of the law's enactment. That initial deadline, December 19, 2025, passed without full compliance. The DOJ released documents in waves across 12 datasets, with the largest batch of 3.5 million pages arriving on January 30, 2026.

The law permits withholding in four categories: child sexual abuse material, victim privacy protections, records subject to legal privilege (the DOJ has cited approximately 200,000 pages in this category), and documents related to ongoing federal investigations.

The question is whether the 53 missing pages fall into any of these categories, or whether they were withheld for a reason the law does not authorize.

The Trump-Epstein Relationship in the Existing Record

The allegations in the missing FBI interviews do not exist in a vacuum. The Epstein Exposed database already contains more than 3,900 document references tied to Donald Trump, including correspondence, phone records, property records, flight logs, and investigative notes.

Trump appeared in Epstein's black book with 16 phone numbers, one of the highest counts of any individual listed. His name was among five that were circled or highlighted. Flight logs show Trump flew on Epstein's aircraft at least seven times between 1993 and 1997, on routes between Palm Beach and the New York area. Pilot Larry Visoski confirmed Trump as a passenger during testimony at the Maxwell trial in December 2021. No flights to Epstein's island, Little St. James, are documented for Trump.

In a 2002 profile in New York Magazine titled "Jeffrey Epstein: International Moneyman of Mystery," Trump was quoted: "I've known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it, Jeffrey enjoys his social life."

NBC archival footage from November 1992 shows Trump and Epstein together at a Mar-a-Lago party attended by NFL cheerleaders. The two men are seen laughing and gesturing toward women on the dance floor.

Trump reportedly banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago between 2003 and 2007, after Epstein allegedly behaved inappropriately toward a teenage daughter of a club member. Trump told Florida police in the mid-2000s that "everyone has known" about Epstein's conduct.

It is this history, documented across thousands of pages already in the public record, that makes the absence of 53 additional pages so conspicuous.

A Broader Pattern of Gaps

The missing Trump-related records are not the only questions about the completeness of the DOJ release. The department itself acknowledges that approximately 2.5 million additional pages remain unpublished beyond the 3.5 million already released. The total corpus of Epstein-related files may exceed 6 million pages.

Earlier in the release cycle, victims' attorneys flagged sloppy redaction practices. Some published documents contained unredacted victim photographs and identifying information, prompting the DOJ to temporarily pull files for additional review. That process of removal and republication has created a confusing record in which documents appear, vanish, and sometimes reappear without public explanation.

The Epstein Exposed database currently indexes over 2.1 million documents across all 12 DOJ datasets. As of this writing, Dataset 9 contains approximately 531,000 documents, Dataset 10 holds roughly 989,000, and Dataset 11 has about 332,000. If the DOJ releases the 53 missing pages, whether through congressional pressure, its own review, or court order, we will ingest and index them as they become available.

What Comes Next

The DOJ has said it is reviewing whether any files were improperly withheld. Congress has opened a bipartisan inquiry. Victims' attorneys have raised public objections. And the serial numbers remain in the catalogue, pointing to pages that the public has not seen.

What those 53 pages contain, whether they corroborate or contradict the accusations, whether they add new details or simply duplicate existing material, cannot be determined until the documents are published. The Epstein Files Transparency Act was designed to prevent exactly this kind of uncertainty. Its stated purpose was to ensure that the public record would be complete, that no files would be withheld for political convenience, and that the survivors of Epstein's crimes would see the system work as promised.

The serial numbers suggest the system has not yet delivered on that promise.

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Sources: NPR (Original Investigation), NPR (Bipartisan Investigation), NPR (House Democrats Investigation), PBS NewsHour, Fortune, Washington Post