Washington DC - A former official in President Barack Obama's White House lodged a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for files that link President Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein.

Former White House Ethics Chief Norm Eisen, who served in the Obama White House, revealed in an article on Substack that he has filed an FOIA request demanding documents linking Epstein to Trump.

FOIA allows the public to request access to records from the US government. Agencies are required to provide the information unless it endangers personal privacy, national security, or law enforcement.

The move comes amid anger from Democrats and Republicans alike as the Trump administration continues to avoid releasing the Epstein files after it was reported that Trump features in the documents.

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"The [government's] credibility is hanging by a thread – & now they’re pushing a lie the MAGA base isn’t even buying," Eisen posted on X.

"We filed FOIAs to find the truth, because the Epstein files are real, & so is the Trump regime’s threat to democracy."

In response to the backlash, critics say the Trump administration is attempting to distract the public with controversies and conspiracies about his political opponents, including Obama.

Eisen said in his Substack that the Trump administration "does not exactly seem eager to release that information" because "the files likely mention Trump, who was a long-term associate of Epstein."

"The public needs to know what these files say about the most powerful man in the world and what Trump’s appointees in government, such as Bove, Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, knew and when they knew it."