House panel seeks Epstein documents from Justice Department

Ryan Tarinelli, CQ-Roll Call on Aug 5, 2025

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WASHINGTON — The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Tuesday subpoenaed the Justice Department for files tied to the sex trafficking case against disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein — a controversy the White House has sought to move on from.

Chairman James R. Comer, R-Ky., gave Attorney General Pamela Bondi a two-week deadline to produce the documents, saying it’s critical that Congress conduct oversight of the government’s efforts to investigate Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a federal prison sentence.

“The facts and circumstances surrounding both Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell’s cases have received immense public interest and scrutiny,” Comer wrote in a letter.

The committee also issued deposition subpoenas to former President Bill Clinton and former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, along with a string of former high-ranking Justice Department officials, including former U.S. attorney generals Merrick Garland, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Eric Holder.

Taken together, the subpoenas all but ensure the Epstein controversy will remain a point of attention on Capitol Hill, as the saga has spilled into American pop culture. A federal indictment had accused Epstein of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls over the course of many years.

It remains to be seen whether the Justice Department will comply with the congressional subpoena or fight the release of the documents.

The latter could provoke a conflict between the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers who have avidly cheered on the Justice Department since the beginning of Trump’s second term.

The White House has angled to move past the Epstein saga, which has renewed attention into Trump’s past association with Epstein.

Before the House left for its August recess, a House Oversight subcommittee approved a motion to direct the committee to subpoena the Justice Department for records tied to the Epstein case.

That was part of a larger push by Democrats to raise the profile on an issue that has created headaches for House Republicans. The move also signaled that some congressional lawmakers were not yet won over by the Trump administration’s efforts to provide more information on the case.