WASHINGTON — The House Oversight Committee has formally demanded the Justice Department hand over its investigatory files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Committee chair Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a flurry of subpoenas Tuesday, including to former President Bill Clinton and previous Justice Department officials, after a subcommittee voted to authorize the subpoenas last month.
The Justice Department subpoena, however, sets up a potential clash between congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump, a former friend of Epstein’s who has furiously insisted that speculation about the case is a distraction. The committee gave the department until Aug. 19 to produce the records.
Top officials in Trump’s Justice Department promised this year they would release investigatory files on Epstein, long a fixture of far-right conspiracy theories, only to reverse course in July and say “no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.”
A subpoena is a formal request for testimony or information that Congress can enforce with court orders and contempt procedures, with potential prison time for people who refuse to cooperate.
It’s hard to imagine the Justice Department handing over Epstein material that it already said it would not release to the public, meaning the oversight committee would probably have to sue get the material. It’s hard to imagine congressional Republicans, who are incredibly subservient to Trump, wanting to drag his administration to court or hold his attorney general in contempt.
The Justice Department declined to comment.
Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) forced a vote during a subcommittee hearing last month to subpoena the Epstein files, and the motion was approved by all Democrats, plus three Republicans — Reps. Brian Jack (Ga.), Scott Perry (Pa.) and Nancy Mace (S.C.).
“Today was an important step forward in our fight for transparency regarding the Epstein files and our dedication to seeking justice for the victims,” Lee said in a joint statement with Rep. Robert Garcia (Calif.), the top Democrat on the committee. “Now, we must continue putting pressure on the Department of Justice until we actually receive every document.”
Committee Republicans pushed to add subpoenas for Bill and Hillary Clinton, as well as former FBI Director James Comey, former special counsel Robert Mueller, and former Attorneys General William Barr, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder and Alberto Gonzales.
The subpoena votes happened as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) struggled to balance demands from the House GOP conference for access to the Epstein files with demands from the president to move on. Johnson started the House’s summer break a day early last month to escape the Epstein drama.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) have said they would use a special procedure to force a House vote on a bill requiring the Justice Department to release its Epstein files. It’s not clear if such a bill could pass both the House and the Senate. A subpoena could be a likelier way of obtaining the material, though the Justice Department could refuse to cooperate, and getting a favorable court order could take years.
The Oversight Committee has also subpoenaed Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former accomplice and girlfriend. Maxwell’s attorney has demanded immunity in exchange for her testimony, an offer Comer refused. Maxwell also said through her lawyer she would be “eager” to testify in public if Trump would give her a pardon or commute her prison sentence.
Democrats have said Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking minors, will say whatever Trump wants to hear.
“We know that Ghislaine Maxwell can’t be taken at her word, so we need these files now in order to corroborate any claims she makes,” Lee and Garcia said in their statement. “It’s important to show folks that corruption and violations of our laws don’t go unchecked, regardless of your political party or how much wealth you have.”
Epstein died in jail in 2019 after being arrested a second time for alleged sex trafficking. He was first arrested in 2006 by Florida police, but federal prosecutors agreed not to press charges if he pleaded guilty to state charges, an arrangement the Justice Department later described as overly lenient.
Before his arrest, Epstein socialized with the rich and famous, including the likes of Trump, Clinton and a range of celebrities. The Justice Department said Epstein victimized more than a thousand women.
Trump, who is reportedly mentioned in the Epstein files, has said he cut ties with Epstein after he hired away staff from his Mar-a-Lago club.