Just when it seemed impossible for former Vice President Kamala Harris to top her past rhetorical missteps, she managed to do exactly that by declaring the Biden Justice Department “independent” — citing the handling of the Epstein files as proof. The claim was so jarring it instantly drew ridicule, given the department’s long record of politically charged actions during the Biden administration.
This is the same Department of Justice that pursued criminal cases against its leading political rival, carried out early-morning raids on pro-life activists, labeled concerned parents at school board meetings as potential domestic extremists, and even floated the idea that attendance at the traditional Latin Mass could signal radicalization. Add in surveillance of Senate Republicans, and the notion of a politically detached DOJ collapses under its own weight.
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Credit, surprisingly, goes to Jimmy Kimmel for asking the obvious question: if transparency mattered so much, why did the Biden administration sit on the Epstein files for four years? Harris’s answer only deepened the confusion. She claimed the administration intentionally avoided influencing the DOJ — even if it came at political cost — because absolute separation was “the right thing to do.” According to Harris, the Justice Department acted free of political or personal considerations throughout Biden’s term.
That explanation strains credibility. The sudden enthusiasm for transparency only appeared once Republicans regained control of the Justice Department. Harris’s attempt to frame inaction as principled restraint landed awkwardly, especially given the setting — a faltering comedy show — and the broader context of her struggling political image. The irony was hard to miss.
The timeline makes the claim even harder to defend. It was the Trump Justice Department that reopened the Epstein case in 2019, indicted Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and ultimately secured Maxwell’s 20-year prison sentence. When Biden and Merrick Garland took over, the case was effectively complete. They could have released the files at any point after Maxwell’s 2021 conviction — but chose not to. The simplest explanation isn’t noble restraint; it’s that the contents offered no political upside. And that reality undermines Harris’s claim far more than any punchline ever could.