A resolution providing for the authority to initiate litigation for actions by the President and Department of Justice officials inconsistent with their duties under the laws of the United States.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 597 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 597

 Providing for the authority to initiate litigation for actions by the 
 President and Department of Justice officials inconsistent with their 
              duties under the laws of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 5, 2026

 Mr. Schumer (for himself, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Van 
Hollen, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
Wyden, Mr. Kim, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Booker, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Schatz, and 
 Ms. Hirono) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
               the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Providing for the authority to initiate litigation for actions by the 
 President and Department of Justice officials inconsistent with their 
              duties under the laws of the United States.

Whereas Public Law 119-38 (the Epstein Files Transparency Act, referred to in 
        this resolution as the ``Act'') was passed with overwhelming bipartisan 
        support in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and with 
        their vote, every United States Senator, and 427 bipartisan House 
        members sent a clear and simple message: Release all the Epstein files;
Whereas the Act required the release of ``all'' records, documents, 
        communications, and investigation materials in a searchable and 
        downloadable format by December 19, 2025;
Whereas the Act provided for limited, narrowly tailored grounds for withholding 
        or redacting information made public in compliance with the law;
Whereas, on December 19, 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the 
        Justice Department would release an initial, but not complete, portion 
        of the Epstein files, which would include ``several hundred thousand 
        documents'' from its Epstein investigative files;
Whereas the Act provides no exception to meeting the December 19, 2025, release 
        deadline;
Whereas the Department of Justice released only 12,285 documents, representing 
        less than 1 percent of the total files in the Department's possession, 
        between December 19, 2025, and December 22, 2025;
Whereas the Department of Justice sought to inflate the total numbers of 
        documents released;
Whereas, on its website, the Department of Justice has also posted other 
        Epstein-related material, which was already made public before enactment 
        of the Act, including records previously produced under the Freedom of 
        Information Act, the July Maxwell interview, the Bureau of Prison 
        footage of Epstein's jail cell on the night of his death, prior 
        Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility and Office 
        of Inspector General reports and statements, and a link to the website 
        of the Committee on Oversight of the House of Representatives;
Whereas the Department of Justice announced on December 24, 2025, that it had 
        apparently discovered over 1,000,000 additional documents, and that the 
        Department was reviewing over 5,000,000 pages, which would take several 
        weeks to review and release to the public;
Whereas the Department of Justice released another production of files on 
        January 30, 2025, which it represented as the final production of 
        Epstein files;
Whereas the Department of Justice announced it would release 3,000,000 pages, 
        which was half of the 6,000,000 pages it acknowledged collecting, yet it 
        released fewer than 2,700,000 pages, falling materially short of its 
        stated production;
Whereas the released documents were extensively redacted, not in compliance with 
        the limited scope of redactions permitted in the Act; and
Whereas the released material improperly disclosed Epstein survivor information, 
        while in other instances, withholding or redacting information 
        concerning Epstein co-conspirators and enablers from disclosure: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the Majority Leader of the Senate shall initiate or 
        intervene in one or more civil actions in the name of the 
        Senate in a Federal Court of competent jurisdiction to seek 
        appropriate relief regarding the failure of the Department of 
        Justice to act in a manner consistent with Public Law 119-38 
        (the Epstein Files Transparency Act);
            (2) the Majority Leader of the Senate shall notify the 
        Senate when the body initiates or intervenes in any civil 
        action pursuant to this resolution; and
            (3) the Office of Senate Legal Counsel, or any other 
        counsel designated at the direction of the Majority Leader of 
        the Senate, following consultation with the Minority Leader of 
        the Senate, shall represent the Senate in any civil action 
        initiated, or in which the Senate intervenes, pursuant to this 
        resolution, and any counsel so designated is authorized to 
        designate funds for such representation approved by the 
        Majority Leader of the Senate out of the miscellaneous line 
        item appropriations.
                                 <all>