The U.S. Department of Justice will begin providing files related to infamous sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to members of Congress this week. The House Oversight Committee said the records will start coming in on Friday.
Committee subpoena
That committee subpoenaed the Epstein files on Tuesday, Aug. 5 and set a deadline for Tuesday.
Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.
Point phone camera here
Committee Chair James Comer acknowledged the time constraint placed on the DOJ to produce the files.
“There are many records in DOJ’s custody, and it will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted,” Comer said in a statement. “I appreciate the Trump Administration’s commitment to transparency and efforts to provide the American people with information about this matter.”
It’s unclear what records will be released, but they are expected to be made public on a rolling basis.
The release of the files comes after Democrats forced a vote in an oversight subcommittee in July.
Some Democrats remain unsatisfied.
“Let me remind you: DOJ owes us the Epstein files beginning tomorrow. All of them. Client list included,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said on X. “No delays. No redactions. No excuses. Anything less is a coverup. The American people deserve the truth, and the victims deserve better.”
Also subpoenaed by the committee was former Attorney General William Barr who served under President Donald Trump and former President George. H.W. Bush.
Barr testimony
Barr appeared before the committee on Monday for a closed-door deposition. Comer told reporters that Barr cooperated with the committee and that Barr said he knew nothing about a client list.
Barr also reportedly told the committee Trump is not criminally implicated in the files.
“People want to know the truth about Epstein island,” Comer told news outlet, including ABC News. “They want to know who was involved. Was the government involved? Did the government know about it? And I think Attorney General Barr’s shed a lot of light with respect to his knowledge of it. And hopefully we’ll bring in Merrick Garland and others and find out more.”
Garland is among other people subpoenaed by the committee which also includes Bill and Hillary Clinton, James Comey, Robert Mueller, Jeff Sessions and more.
GOP division
The release of the Epstein files has been the source of some division among Republicans.
Last month, MAGA supporters were at odds with the Trump administration’s conclusion on the Epstein files, which said there was no client list. Supporters like Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, R-GA, and influencer Joe Rogan questioned those conclusions.
Trump asked supporters to remain quiet on the Epstein case, and it caused division among conservative networks like Fox News and Newsmax.
A recent report also revealed the FBI redacted the president’s name from the Epstein files. Trump has maintained he’s done nothing wrong and has never been to Epstein’s private island.
A recent Wall Street Journal report claimed Trump wrote a sexually explicit birthday card to Epstein. The story prompted a $10 billion libel lawsuit from Trump.
The administration also controversially moved Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell to a minimum-security prison camp.
