DOJ Takes Over Epstein Documents, House Committee Confirms
The House Oversight Committee announced on Friday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken charge of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.
A spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee noted, “The House Oversight Committee received the initial batch of records related to Epstein under a subpoena from Speaker James Comer.”
Representative James Comer expressed his views on Twitter, indicating that the Trump administration’s DOJ has provided thousands of pages of documents to the committee, moving at a quicker pace than the Biden administration. He added that, in his view, the former Attorney General Merrick Garland had hindered their efforts by delaying responses to the subpoena.
The records will be released after a thorough review to protect the identities of victims and to exclude any sensitive materials related to child sexual abuse.
The committee aims to collaborate with the DOJ to ensure the release of these documents doesn’t interfere with ongoing investigations or legal proceedings.
Chairman James Comer mentioned on Monday that the DOJ is responding to the committee’s subpoena for the Epstein records, and he expects the documents to be prepared with good intentions.
On Tuesday, Comer indicated he expected to receive the documents by Friday, just ahead of General William Barr’s scheduled closed testimony.
During his testimony, Barr stated that he never observed any evidence suggesting that President Donald Trump had interfered in the Epstein case. He emphasized that Trump did not issue any directives or play a role in either the accusations against Epstein or his death.
Barr is one of six former Attorneys General summoned by Comer as part of this inquiry. Letters have also been sent to Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Jeff Sessions, and Alberto Gonzales to discuss their knowledge concerning the Epstein matter.
Additional subpoenas have been issued to former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller, as well as to Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton. A spokesperson from the committee informed the media that they intend to withdraw the subpoena for Mueller.
Meanwhile, Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche mentioned that the DOJ released an interview with Ghislaine Maxwell, noting that it contained all the words except for the victim’s name and nothing was deleted.
In a separate development, a federal judge appointed by Bill Clinton rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to seal documents related to the Epstein Grand Jury, labeling the request as merely “repurposed.” In a 14-page ruling, Judge Richard Berman described the testimony as mere “snippets of hearsay” regarding Epstein’s behavior.
