US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that the country will not move past questions surrounding the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein files until all records are fully released.

"America will not move on from the Epstein files until America gets the whole truth, the full truth about the Epstein files. America will not move on until Donald Trump does what he promised, full transparency, and we haven't come close to that yet," Schumer said on the Senate floor.

His remarks a day came after President Donald Trump said the nation should move on following the latest release of files, claiming that Epstein and others conspired against him.

Schumer said millions of documents remain "shrouded in darkness", raising questions about what information they may contain.

"We have no idea what's left in them, what is in there about Donald Trump? Did the Justice Department particularly hide and not reveal documents that might be damaging to Trump?" he asked.

He accused the Justice Department of prioritizing Trump’s interests over transparency and legal obligations, claiming the department lacks independence under leadership appointed by the president.

"Trump chose people in the Justice Department to be his own attack dogs, his own puppets. They don't have any independence, and so we don't trust them," Schumer said.

He concluded by saying the issue will not fade until Trump releases all remaining Epstein-related documents.

The latest batch of Epstein-related documents released by the Justice Department last week mention several high-profile figures.

Epstein was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He pleaded guilty in a court in the state of Florida and was convicted of procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008, but critics call the relatively minor conviction a “sweetheart deal.”

His victims have alleged that he operated a sprawling sex trafficking network that was used by members of the wealthy and political elite. (AA)

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