How many foia requests did biden admin ignore over epstein case and docs

1. What the reporting actually documents: legal withholdings, not a count of ignored requests

News coverage and commentary emphasize that the DOJ cited legal grounds — notably FOIA Exemption 7(A), which covers ongoing law-enforcement investigations — for withholding Epstein-related materials, rather than documenting a publicly released tally of FOIA requests that were “ignored” by the Biden administration ^{[2] [5]}. Reuters, CNN and PBS reporting focus on subpoenas, congressional pressure and a statutory fix from Congress rather than presenting a list or number of individual FOIA denials ^{[4] [6] [7]}.

2. DOJ’s stated rationale: ongoing investigations and victim privacy

Newsweek and other coverage report that the Biden Justice Department told courts it withheld Epstein records because related investigations and potential prosecutions remained active — a justification tied explicitly to FOIA Exemption 7(A) — and outlets note longstanding legal limits and the sensitive nature of evidence and victim information as reasons for non-release ^{[2] [5]}. That is the DOJ’s publicly stated rationale in available reporting ^{[2] [5]}.

3. Congressional and judicial avenues vs. FOIA complaints

Reporting shows Congress pursued subpoenas and, ultimately, legislation (the Epstein Files Transparency Act) to force broader public release of DOJ files; the House voted overwhelmingly and the Senate moved quickly, giving DOJ 30 days to comply — a remedy that operates alongside, and in some cases supersedes, ordinary FOIA procedures ^{[3] [4]}. PBS and Reuters coverage document negotiations over what documents the DOJ would provide to Congress and note earlier statements that some additional disclosures were not “appropriate or warranted” absent legal changes ^{[7] [4]}.

4. How advocates and critics framed the issue

Some Republican lawmakers and commentators criticized the Biden-era DOJ for not releasing files and framed that as obstruction; other reporters and fact-checkers (e.g., PolitiFact) note that courts unsealed civil-case documents during Biden’s term and that federal criminal investigations relevant to Epstein pre-dated Biden — underscoring competing narratives about responsibility for non-release ^{[8] [5]}. The White House and partisan outlets also offered politically charged takes accusing the other side of hiding information or weaponizing releases, illustrating how the story was used for political advantage ^[9].

5. What’s not in the available reporting — the missing count

None of the provided sources supplies a definitive number of FOIA requests submitted to the Biden administration that were later “ignored” or denied with respect to Epstein materials; available sources instead describe agency withholdings, court filings, congressional subpoenas and legislative action without enumerating FOIA denials (not found in current reporting). If you need an exact count of FOIA requests and their dispositions, current reporting does not include that figure (not found in current reporting).

6. Practical implications and next steps for researchers

If your goal is to document specific FOIA request outcomes, the available coverage suggests two paths: ^[10] search DOJ FOIA logs and agency release/denial records or public court filings for named FOIA lawsuits (available sources do not mention such a consolidated list), or ^[11] follow the implementation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which legally compels DOJ to release many unclassified records within 30 days of passage and may reduce the need to rely on piecemeal FOIA wins ^{[3] [4]}. Reuters and CNN coverage indicate the law was intended to produce a large public release on a fixed timetable ^{[4] [6]}.

Limitations: this analysis uses only the sources you provided; they do not contain a documented tally of FOIA requests ignored by the Biden administration, so I cannot supply a number beyond what those sources report (not found in current reporting).