Roger Marshall has an Epstein files problem

Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall initially voted against releasing Justice Department files related to the investigation of sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.

Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell after being arrested on federal sex trafficking charges in 2019. Some of his victims were as young as 13 years old. The Justice Department files showed that Epstein had close ties to prominent political and business figures, including President Donald Trump.

Marshall, who is seeking a second term this year, is facing an unexpectedly competitive reelection fight. Separate polls from April and June showed him leading Democratic pastor Adam Hamilton by just four points.

In September 2025, Marshall voted to table a bipartisan amendment to a defense bill that would have forced the release of the Justice Department files. The amendment did not pass. Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi initially supported releasing the files before backtracking, reportedly under pressure from Trump.

Marshall derided the amendment as a “political stunt.” He previously said that releasing the files was “not that interesting to me” and said efforts to do so were a part of Democrats’ “psychosis.”

The House passed a standalone bill compelling the release of the files in November 2025. The Senate passed the same legislation by unanimous consent. Marshall did not object to the bill becoming law. Polling indicated that most Americans supported releasing the files.

Campaign finance records indicate that Marshall took donations from two Epstein associates last year: $17,500 from Blackrock CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman and $8,500 from Blackrock executive Joseph Baratta. Schwarzman’s name appears in the files 23 times, while Baratta’s appears twice.

An individual’s name appearing in the files does not necessarily imply they committed a crime.

In 2020, Marshall accepted $500 from lawyer Greg Ezring, who appears in the files 35 times, and $11,400 from Bryant Park Capital CEO Joel Magerman, who appears in the files three times.

Marshall’s actions around the Epstein files risk drawing attention to other times he failed to protect sexual assault survivors.

In 2019, when he was serving in the House of Representatives, Marshall voted against an amendment to the Violence Against Women Act that would have allowed colleges to access grant funding for training personnel on interviewing sexual assault victims.

Marshall later voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act altogether.

Around the same time, Marshall skipped a vote on an amendment prohibiting Export-Import Bank transactions by individuals subject to sanctions related to human rights abuses, including sex trafficking.

Marshall has also voted to confirm cabinet members who faced allegations of sexual assault, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Marshall also voted to confirm Todd Blanche to be Attorney General, despite Epstein survivors asking senators to vote against him.