DOJ to Deliver Epstein Files To House Oversight Committee
The House Oversight Committee is preparing to receive long-sought records on Jeffrey Epstein from the Trump administration this week, following months of pressure from lawmakers and a looming subpoena deadline.
Chairman James Comer (R-KY.) confirmed Monday that the Justice Department has agreed to start turning over documents on Friday, just days after the original deadline of Aug. 19. The files are expected to cover Epstein, his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and any material connected to human trafficking, sexual abuse of minors, or related crimes.
“The Department of Justice has informed us that it will begin to provide Epstein-related records to the Oversight Committee this week on Friday,” Comer announced in a statement. “There are many records in DOJ’s custody, and it will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted.”
Comer praised what he described as a new “commitment to transparency” by Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Trump administration.
“I appreciate the administration’s efforts to provide the American people with information about this matter,” he said, underscoring that the public has a right to understand how Epstein’s case was handled.
The Oversight Committee initially set a noon deadline on Tuesday for the Justice Department to comply. However, Comer acknowledged that the sheer volume of materials made that date unrealistic.
“You can imagine how many documents there are,” he told reporters. “I think we’ll receive the documents very soon. They’re compiling everything together.”
He described ongoing talks with DOJ as “a good faith effort” and said the panel was satisfied — for now.
Among the records requested are all DOJ communications tied to Epstein and Maxwell, files related to Epstein’s controversial 2007 non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in Florida, and documents about his 2019 death in custody, which the DOJ officially ruled a suicide.
Lawmakers are also demanding records surrounding the department’s prosecutions of Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on charges of trafficking minors and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
The committee has asked that materials be produced with as few redactions as possible, aside from those required by law to shield victims’ identities or remove explicit content.
The move comes amid an extensive bipartisan investigation into the Epstein scandal — one that has swept up not only the Justice Department, but also several former attorneys general, FBI directors, and even Bill and Hillary Clinton. Both Clintons have already been subpoenaed and are slated to sit for depositions this fall. Former Attorney General Bill Barr testified in a closed-door deposition last week, the first in a series of interviews under subpoena.
The Oversight Committee authorized the barrage of subpoenas in July, reflecting growing frustration in Congress over what critics have called stonewalling by federal agencies. Some Republicans had accused the Justice Department of slow-walking or withholding key information about Epstein’s networks and possible accomplices. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has also accused the Trump administration of “withholding” Epstein files, warning he could sue for their release.
The Justice Department has long maintained that there is no hidden “client list” and no evidence of blackmail involving high-profile figures. Its most recent review described the case as “exhaustively investigated,” with the official conclusion that Epstein took his own life in his Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial. That finding, however, has done little to quiet suspicion among lawmakers and the public.
In response to those suspicions, Trump earlier this year directed the DOJ to release grand jury testimony related to Epstein. That request is still tied up in the courts.
Bondi, meanwhile, assigned her deputy, Todd Blanche, to personally interview Maxwell in prison in hopes of uncovering additional information, though it remains unclear whether anything new emerged.
