WASHINGTON — The Justice Department will begin the process of providing files related to its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein by the end of this week, the House Oversight Committee announced on Monday.
DOJ officials informed the committee, which oversees the federal government and its agencies, that it would begin transferring those materials on Friday, Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement. The latest development comes after the panel of lawmakers approved a slew of subpoenas earlier this month compelling the department to hand over its investigative files by Aug. 19.
Comer acknowledged the files will be handed over after the due date, but said it was because there are “many records in DOJ’s custody” that must be reviewed to redact any identification of victims and “any child sexual abuse material.”
“I appreciate the Trump Administration’s commitment to transparency and efforts to provide the American people with information about this matter,” Comer said in a statement.
The announcement came on the same day members of the Oversight Committee met with former U.S. Attorney General William Barr as part of its wide-ranging investigation into Epstein, who was charged with sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors in 2019. Epstein later died while awaiting trial, and his death was ruled a suicide.
The House Oversight Committee approved nearly a dozen other subpoenas compelling former government officials to appear before the panel, including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The committee previously approved a subpoena for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s alleged co-conspirator, last month to interview her from her prison cell.
Other officials included in the bulk subpoenas are former U.S. attorneys general Alberto Gonzales, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder and Merrick Garland for depositions, as well as former FBI directors Robert Mueller and James Comey.
Meanwhile, a pair of lawmakers are planning to host victims of Epstein on Capitol Hill when Congress returns from its August recess next month. The survivors will be joined by their attorneys and Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., as the bipartisan pair push for a vote on a resolution to release all files related to Epstein.
It’s not clear if those efforts will be dropped once the Oversight Committee, of which Khanna is a member, is given access to those records. The Deseret News contacted Khanna’s office for comment.
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 President Donald Trump as he pushes to end the news cycle.
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.