First wave of Epstein files is being sent to Congress, says Oversight Committee chair
The House Oversight Committee is expecting to get hundreds of documents on Friday related to the Justice Department’s investigation into the Jeffrey Epstein case.
The release will mark the first wave of files to be sent to the committee in response to a congressional subpoena issued earlier this month calling on the DOJ to provide records from its probe of the convicted sex-offender and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has said at least some of those files will eventually be made public.
“We’re going to be transparent. We’re doing what we said we would do. We’re getting the documents,” Comer told reporters on Capitol Hill this week. “And I believe the White House will work with us.”
The handling of the Epstein case represents a delicate dance for congressional Republicans. On the one hand, they’re navigating pressure for more transparency from their base. On the other hand, the release risks exposing potentially embarrassing details about the government’s handling of the Epstein investigation, as well as President Trump’s own past ties to the disgraced financier. Trump has long maintained his friendship with Epstein ended before he was indicted for soliciting prostitution in 2006.
Earlier this month, Comer issued 11 subpoenas seeking the DOJ files, as well as testimony from high-profile witnesses. In addition to Maxwell, the list includes former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as top law enforcement officials from previous administrations, including former FBI Directors James Comey and Robert Mueller and former Attorneys General Merrick Garland and Bill Barr.
Epstein died by suicide in prison six years ago this month while waiting to go on trial on sex trafficking charges — fueling conspiracy theories of a cover-up.
On the campaign trail, Trump and other Republicans promised to release the Epstein files if they came to power. But the administration has been facing blowback since July, when Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department and the FBI had found no evidence that Epstein had a “client list” or that he blackmailed prominent associates.
The committee’s review
Comer told reporters on Capitol Hill this week he wasn’t sure what the committee would receive from the Justice Department on Friday. But he said he expected there would be a lot to review.
“I’m confident there are hundreds and hundreds of pages because you have two people that were charged, so there has to be a lot of evidence there,” Comer said.
Comer said the Justice Department would conduct its own review of what should be redacted in the files. He expected the committee to also do a separate review.
Critics — including some Republicans — say they’re worried the release will be far from comprehensive. Democrats have argued the release to the public will be limited and carefully controlled by Republicans.
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the committee’s top minority member, noted the panel delivered a bipartisan vote for complete compliance with the subpoena demanding DOJ records.
“Releasing the Epstein files in batches just continues this White House cover-up,” Garcia said in a statement this week. “Handpicked, partial productions are wholly insufficient and potentially misleading.”
The unsuccessful push for grand jury testimony
Last month, Trump asked for related grand jury transcripts to be made public. However, three federal judges have ruled against the plan.
The latest ruling came on Wednesday, when U.S. District Judge Richard Berman of Manhattan said there wasn’t sufficient justification to unseal the records. He also said the thousands of pages the government has in its possession would go further to inform the public than what the government asked to be unsealed. Berman said the grand jury materials requested totaled 70 pages of summary testimony from a single FBI agent, a power point exhibit and four pages of call logs.
The Oversight committee’s work is not the only effort in Congress to release Epstein records to the public. With Congress due to return after Labor Day, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., plans to force a House vote on releasing the records.
Critical of his party’s response to the records demands, Massie teamed up with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., for the bipartisan effort. The two plan to hold a press conference the day after the House’s return with Epstein survivors.
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