House Republicans are planning to subpoena the DOJ for the release of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, after a congressional panel approved the move Wednesday.
The effort, led by Democrats, represents a major breakthrough after they have spent weeks trying to force Republicans to take a vote on the divisive issue surrounding the late financier and convicted sex offender.
The House Oversight Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement, which is led by Republicans, approved the motion from Democratic Rep. Summer Lee in a 8-2 vote. It occurred just as the House was taking its last floor vote of the month to leave for August recess, which GOP leadership moved up after dysfunction fueled by the Epstein controversy derailed House business.
The measure divided Republicans. Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Brian Jack of Georgia joined with Democrats to support it. Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona and Clay Higgins of Louisiana voted against it.
A spokesperson for House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said the chamber’s rules demand that the subpoena now be issued.
Lee, the ranking member on the subcommittee, made the request for the vote early on in an unrelated hearing on the topic of unaccompanied undocumented children at the border. Higgins, the subcommittee chair, postponed the vote until the end of the hearing, and it appeared to take GOP members of the panel by surprise.
“Numerous members of this committee and this subcommittee have called for answers and transparency,” Lee said. “So let’s do something about it.”
In at least one other instance, Comer has agreed to the demands for transparency. In a separate subcommittee hearing Tuesday, a GOP-led vote to compel the House Oversight Committee to subpoena Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell was successful. Comer agreed and vowed his team would visit Maxwell in prison after they negotiate details with her lawyers.
“The public deserves to know who was complicit in Epstein’s heinous crimes, including people with immense power in our government,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, who was recently elected as the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. “Today’s vote was just the first step toward accountability, and we will continue pushing for the truth.”
Republicans also piled onto Lee’s motion to make their own subpoena requests. The panel voted to approve a measure from Perry to subpoena former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former attorney general Eric Holder, former attorney general Merrick Garland, and former DOJ special counsel Robert Mueller, among others.
GOP subcommittee members also successfully added amendment to Lee’s motion to subpoena the Epstein files that would also require the release of materials related to former President Joe Biden’s communication with administration officials around the Epstein matter.
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