The Department of Justice (DOJ) has provided the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee with the first set of documents concerning Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal activities, following a subpoena from the committee for access to the complete Epstein files.
On the same day, the DOJ also released to the public a recorded interview and transcript with Ghislaine Maxwell, conducted by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. This action was a response to the backlash against the initial decision by the DOJ and FBI to withhold further information about the Epstein investigation.
A spokesperson for the House GOP Oversight Committee stated, “The House Oversight Committee has obtained thousands of pages from the Department of Justice’s initial release of Epstein documents, as mandated by Chairman James Comer’s subpoena.”
The DOJ included the interview with Maxwell in the batch of documents released to the Oversight panel in addition to releasing it publicly.
During her interview, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is seeking clemency for her sex trafficking conviction from President Trump, asserted that she “never witnessed” Trump behaving inappropriately.
Although the delivery of the Epstein files to the Oversight Committee arrived slightly after the initial Tuesday deadline, with further documents anticipated, Oversight Republicans welcomed the progress.
The GOP spokesperson commented, “The pace at which the Trump DOJ is supplying the records is significantly faster compared to the Biden DOJ. In contrast, former Attorney General Garland delayed Chairman Comer’s subpoena for the audio of Special Counsel Hur’s interview with President Biden, allegedly to cover up his cognitive impairments.”
Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and the spokesperson have said that the panel intends to make the records public after reviewing to ensure any identification of victims or child sexual abuse material are redacted.
“The Committee will also consult with the DOJ to ensure any documents released do not negatively impact ongoing criminal cases and investigations,” the spokesperson said.
“We’re going to work as quickly as we can,” Comer told reporters on Thursday. “This is sensitive information. We want to make sure we don’t do anything that [will] harm or jeopardize any victims that were involved in this. But we’re going to be transparent.”
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the panel, earlier this week criticized the plan for the DOJ to release files to the committee in batches, saying that doing so amounts to a “cover-up.”
“The American People will not accept anything short of the full, unredacted Epstein files,” Garcia said.
The Oversight Committee’s move to subpoena of the Department of Justice for files related to Epstein came in the wake of widespread outrage over an unsigned July memo from the DOJ and FBI saying they would not release any more information from the Epstein files.
The announcement led to outcry from conservatives who believe the government is shielding powerful individuals who may have been involved with Epstein’s abuse of young women and underage girls and furor from Democrats who have sought to link Trump to Epstein and accuse him of covering up the files’ release.
The Oversight panel subpoenaed the DOJ for the files this month pursuant to a Democratic-led motion in a subcommittee to subpoena the Justice Department for the “full, unredacted Epstein files.” Three Republicans joined Democrats to move to subpoena the DOJ, and Comer issued the subpoena in August.
It also subpoenaed several high-profile former federal officials to testify about the Epstein matter, pursuant to a Republican-led motion that came after the Democratic motion to subpoena the DOJ.
The first of those depositions, with former Attorney General Bill Barr, took place Monday. Subpoenas have also been issued to former President Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and several former attorneys general and FBI directors.
Updated at 3:52 p.m. EDT
