The House Oversight Committee will subpoena the Justice Department to release files tied to the case of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, according to a committee spokesperson, after three Republicans on a subcommittee joined Democrats to vote on the matter Wednesday.
The subpoena “will be issued in the future,” the spokesperson said, without providing additional details on the timing.
Three Republicans on the Federal Law Enforcement Subcommittee joined Democrats in an 8-2 vote to approve a motion by Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., to compel the Justice Department to release files tied to Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019.
The subpoena would request the redaction of names of victims and any personally identifying information. The materials would be reviewed internally by the committee and would not be for public release.
Subcommittee Chairman Clay Higgins, R-La., and Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., were the only no votes. Republican Reps. Nancy Mace, of South Carolina; Scott Perry, of Pennsylvania; and Brian Jack, of Georgia, voted with Democrats to approve the motion.
Subpoenas will also be issued to former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller, and former attorneys general Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales as part of an investigation into Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, following a motion from Perry.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence following her conviction on federal sex trafficking charges in 2021.
Earlier Wednesday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., subpoenaed Maxwell for a deposition at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Florida, on Aug. 11, citing "immense public interest and scrutiny."
Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, said in a statement, "As for the Congressional subpoena, Ms. Maxwell is taking this one step at a time. She looks forward to her meeting with the Department of Justice, and that discussion will help inform how she proceeds."
President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have sought to blame Democrats and distract from the firestorm surrounding Epstein, even though Trump's supporters promoted conspiracy theories tied to Epstein’s death in prison for many years. On the campaign trail, Trump said he would have “no problem” looking into a list of Epstein’s clients if he were elected. But recently he has downplayed the issue, saying he doesn’t want the support of those pushing the Epstein “bulls---.”
The Justice Department said in a memo this month that a review of the case files had not turned up a client list and that there was “no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions."
Many of Trump’s supporters have disregarded Trump's calls to move on from the records, prompting the president to direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of the files last week. The Justice Department has a pending request to unseal grand jury transcripts in the Southern District of New York, where Epstein was indicted.
