The Department of Justice (DOJ) turned over the first batch of documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Friday, in response to a subpoena from the panel seeking the full “Epstein Files.”
Separately, the DOJ also released a transcript of the interview that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche conducted last month with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
“The House Oversight Committee has received the Department of Justice’s first production of Epstein records pursuant to Chairman James Comer’s subpoena. The production contains thousands of pages of documents,” A House GOP Oversight Committee spokesperson said in a statement.
While the documents came several days later than the panel’s original Tuesday deadline, and more releases are expected, the Oversight Republicans praised the disclosure.
“The Trump DOJ is providing records at a far quicker pace than anything the Biden DOJ ever provided. In fact, former Attorney General Garland obstructed Chairman Comer’s subpoena for the audio of Special Counsel Hur’s interview with President Biden to hide his cognitive decline,” the GOP spokesperson said.
Chairman 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.”
The Oversight Committee’s move to subpoena of the Department of Justice for files related to Epstein came in wake of widespread outrage over an unsigned July memo from the DOJ and FBI saying that they would not release any more information from the so-called 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 President 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.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
