The GOP-controlled House has released the first tranche of documents in its investigation into convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein — a move intended to quash the mounting calls for answers around why the Justice Department allowed Epstein to continue to prey on victims for decades.
The trove of materials, however, is unlikely to satisfy those clamoring for more and new information about the case. This batch, subpoenaed by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, contains almost exclusively information that has already been released publicly; Oversight Committee Democrats say that, based on their initial review of 33,000 files, only 3 percent of the documents contained new details.
Many of the files appeared to be public court filings, including, for example, a 2021 motion from Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell to dismiss the superseding indictment against her in federal court in New York. Among materials unveiled Tuesday evening, however, are some video clips, including one that appears to feature a young woman recounting her experience as one of Epstein’s masseuses. Her image, and the image of the interviewer, are blurred.
These files were originally handed over to lawmakers last month, but Republicans and Democrats on the House Oversight Committee took more than a week to privately review them. The committee’s GOP majority said it was coordinating with the Justice Department to redact information that could compromise the victims or ongoing criminal matters.
It’s expected that the DOJ will continue to turn over information.
Democrats claim that the only new information in the materials are the flight logs from Customs and Border Protection. The files show Epstein’s travels to destinations such as Paris, New York, and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
“To the American people — don’t let this fool you,” said Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, in a statement. “House Republicans are trying to make a spectacle of releasing already-public documents. Pam Bondi has said the client list was on her desk. She could release it right now if she wanted to.”
Epstein died by suicide in 2019, after the Justice Department had levied new sex trafficking charges against him. Maxwell, his co-conspirator, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in the scheme. The Justice Department recently released a transcript of its July interview with her.
The controversy surrounding Epstein ballooned in July when the Justice Department quietly released an unsigned memo that said there was no evidence that Epstein maintained an incriminating so-called client list or that he was murdered in his jail cell and that further information would not be forthcoming.
The move triggered an uproar, as members of both parties accused President Donald Trump and his allies of reneging on their promise to bring transparency to the longstanding allegations against Epstein. Facing an online fury, Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to ask the courts to release additional information in the Epstein case. But several judges ruled that the administration could not release grand jury materials.
At the same time, House GOP leadership was fielding mounting calls from Republicans and Democrats to take action to compel the full release of the files — a political quagmire that continues to plague Speaker Mike Johnson this week after the monthlong congressional recess. In what appeared to be a surprise move forced by Democrats on a House Oversight subcommittee, a majority of members on that subcommittee voted to subpoena the information right before leaving Washington for the August break.
House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) issued the formal subpoena accordingly.
It’s not clear what additional troves of materials could include. The Oversight Committee has also issued a subpoena to Epstein’s estate for more information and asked the Treasury Department for suspicious activity reports that could help with its investigation in the Epstein case.
Alex Acosta, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida who also served as Trump’s Labor secretary during his first term, will sit with Congressional investigators Sept. 19. Acosta approved Epstein’s 2008 plea deal that has been widely criticized as far too lenient.
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