MSNBC host Jen Psaki on August 8, 2025

On Friday, legal group Democracy Forward filed a federal lawsuit asking the courts to compel President Donald Trump's administration to release the remaining evidence it has on convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. And MSNBC host Jen Psaki pointed out one particular element of the lawsuit that could prove to be a significant obstacle for Trump.

During the latest episode of her show "The Briefing," Psaki delved into the group's lawsuit, which it filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Democracy Forward explained on its website that the suit is asking the court to order the release of the Epstein files "in an expedited manner," in accordance with federal public records laws.

The suit names several top officials in the Trump administration's Department of Justice (DOJ), like Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino. However, it also seeks communications between those officials and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. According to Psaki — who was former President Joe Biden's one-time press secretary — this could present a unique dilemma for Trump.

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"The lawsuit is seeking internal communications, and this is a key part from within the FBI and the Department of Justice," Psaki said. "Just to put a fine point on this, that would include emails, memos, text messages ... basically any internal chatter whatsoever from within these agencies about how to handle what has become a huge problem for Trump."

"Karoline Leavitt clearly doesn't work for the FBI or DOJ. She works in the White House, and she is notably the only White House official named in the request," Psaki continued. "So even the mere suggestion that she might have communicated with the DOJ or FBI about something like this is a pretty gigantic red flag."

Psaki went on to note that in her personal experience, senior-level DOJ staff made deliberate efforts to avoid even the mere appearance of coordination with the administration regarding law enforcement matters. And she made it clear that while it remains unknown whether Leavitt actually communicated about Epstein with the DOJ, records of her communications could prove valuable given her unique role in the White House.

"Remember, the press secretary is not only responsible for answering to the public, they're also an adviser to the president," she said, "So any communication that Karoline Leavitt had with DOJ or FBI could tell us a lot about what the president might be trying to hide."

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