Congressional lawmakers will get their hands on a first tranche of Epstein files in the coming days.
House Oversight Committee chair James Comer in a statement Monday said the Justice Department would start to turn over Jeffrey Epstein-related materials this Friday — less than two weeks after the Kentucky Republican transmitted a subpoena to the agency to demand access to documents connected to the deceased financier and sex offender.
Comer cautioned, however, that it could take a while for all the DOJ materials to come through.
“Officials with the Department of Justice have informed us that the Department will begin to provide Epstein-related records to the Oversight Committee this week on Friday,” he said. “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.”
Speaking with reporters earlier in the day on Capitol Hill, Comer said his committee was “in constructive, productive conversations with the DOJ” about the release of further files in the Epstein case, ahead of the Aug. 19 deadline the committee included in its subpoena.
Still, the possibility that any materials are now forthcoming comes at a critical juncture for Democrats in their efforts to play up the controversy over the secretive nature of the Epstein files to undermine Republicans, particularly as the weeks count down to the end of the August recess.
Comer was compelled to issue the subpoena for the files last month when, during an otherwise routine Oversight subcommittee hearing, Democrats were able to get enough Republicans to take their side in a vote to force the action. It was a major victory for Democrats, who have been seeking to stoke divisions among the president’s base over the matter, including by highlighting the administration’s lack of transparency.
Trump’s allies and supporters have long peddled conspiracy theories about what happened to Epstein, who died by suicide behind bars and has a long history of ties to powerful people — including Trump. Yet now the president and his inner circle have largely been trying to keep documents related to the charges against Epstein under wraps.
The issue has also roiled Republicans in Congress. GOP leadership has moved to quash efforts to force the release of materials in the Epstein matter and sent lawmakers back to their districts early amid mounting pressure to allow a vote on releasing the materials.
Members of both parties have made clear they plan to pick up where they left off in this fight when the House returns early next month, starting with a forcing a vote on the House floor on a resolution from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) calling for the files’ unsealing.
For his part, Comer is now proceeding with a probe of his own through the Oversight Committee. Last month, when Oversight subcommittee Democrats seemingly surprised colleagues by having enough votes to subpoena Epstein case materials, it opened up something of an impromptu, subpoena vote free-for-all, culminating in demands that more than half a dozen public officials testify.
One of those officials brought in to be interviewed behind closed doors was Trump’s former attorney general, Bill Barr, who came to Capitol Hill to speak with members and staff on Monday.
“What Attorney General Barr testified in there was that he never had conversations with President Trump pertaining to a client list, he didn’t know anything about a client list,” Comer told reporters. “He said that he had never seen anything that would implicate President Trump in any of this.”
Asked whether the committee was interested in interviewing additional witnesses like Alex Acosta — Trump’s former Labor secretary who oversaw Epstein’s plea agreement as a U.S. attorney in Florida — Comer said the committee would bring in any additional individuals who could add information to the investigation.
A DOJ spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Erica Orden contributed to this report.