House Republicans issued a slew of subpoenas on Tuesday morning compelling the Department of Justice to release records related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in the latest escalation of efforts to reveal information about his alleged sex trafficking ring.
The House Oversight Committee approved nearly a dozen subpoenas compelling former government officials to appear before the panel, including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The subpoenas come after the committee approved a subpoena for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s alleged co-conspirator, last month to interview her from her prison cell.
Both the Clintons are being compelled to testify before the committee by mid-October to provide any information related to Epstein.
The committee similarly issued subpoenas to former U.S. attorneys general William Barr, Alberto Gonzales, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder and Merrick Garland for depositions. Former FBI directors Robert Mueller and James Comey were also called to testify.
The Justice Department must comply with its subpoena to release all Epstein-related materials by Aug. 19, according to the subpoena, which would give lawmakers sufficient time to sift through information and decide on next steps before Congress reconvenes after Labor Day.
The moves come even as President Donald Trump has pressed Republicans to drop the story altogether, insisting that he stopped speaking to the disgraced financier years ago and “kicked (Epstein) out of his club for being a creep.”
Top Republicans in Congress have carefully waded into the discussion, expressing support to release files as a way to calm their base while also being careful not to anger Trump as he pushes to end the news cycle.
House GOP leadership drafted a resolution last month calling for the release of the investigative materials as a way to provide Republican lawmakers with some political cover as Democrats hammer them on the subject. But that resolution is nonbinding and largely symbolic, prompting criticism from some rank-and-file members.
That anger only began to grow when House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., did not schedule a vote on any Epstein-related measure before Congress left town for its annual August recess, instead saying the Trump administration needs to be given time to process credible materials for publication.
“We have a responsibility, actually a dual responsibility. I’ve been on record very quickly, but I believe in maximum transparency. I think every single House Republican will say the same thing,” Johnson said before leaving for the monthlong recess. “We also understand the other part of that duty is that we have to protect innocent victims.”
Trump has taken steps to quell the growing calls to release the Epstein files, directing Attorney General Pam Bondi last month to begin unsealing grand jury testimony related to the case. The DOJ also met with Maxwell in recent weeks for interviews, although information related to those discussions have not yet been publicly released.