WASHINGTON, D.C. — In recent months, the House Oversight Committee has released thousands of pages of documents and information related to the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — but critics said more transparency was needed.
That all changed when President Trump and Republican leaders said last week they supported a bill that gives the Department of Justice 30 days to turn over all Epstein files.
Passing that legislation has been a top priority for Democrats and a handful of House Republicans, who broke ranks for months by calling on party leaders to consider the bill — despite objections from President Trump.
Most Republicans and President Trump said they wanted the Oversight Committee to continue its investigation into Epstein instead of releasing the files all at once, citing privacy concerns for unnamed victims and other consequences. However, that changed once President Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law on Wednesday, which does exactly what he and House Republicans warned against doing for months.
After the bill was signed, the House Oversight Committee said it plans to expand its investigation. The committee issued subpoenas to banks for Epstein’s financial records and requested documents from the attorney general of the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein had two private islands.
We asked Oversight Committee member Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., how the Epstein Files Transparency Act might impact the committee’s ongoing investigation.
“I don’t think so. We’re going to continue to do the investigation and issue a final report. I mean, we continue to release documents. All the other documents hopefully will be released in short order. Then we’ll have full transparency, people will be able to come to their own conclusions, whatever those might be,” Langworthy said, adding that the committee still has additional questions and concerns about the files. “We don’t know what’s in all of the documents. We don’t understand what the chain of custody has been on these documents.”
Langworthy expressed concerns over the validity and quality of the files handled by Biden-era DOJ officials.
“The validity of all the documents, I unfortunately, I don’t think I could agree that they’re all pristine beyond a reasonable doubt because we’ve seen the DOJ take extraordinary steps. I question people that had custody of these documents, and I find it deeply concerning the things that we’re hearing out of DOJ in the Biden years,” Langworthy added.
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said last week that Bill and Hillary Clinton must appear for depositions as part of the committee’s investigation. Comer said he would initiate contempt proceedings if the Clintons do not comply with their subpoenas.
The committee also has its own subpoena to the Justice Department for all 300 gigabytes of the Epstein files — with no exceptions. The legislation signed by Trump to release the files last does have exceptions, including national security.
“Despite signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, it’s crystal clear that Donald Trump and Pam Bondi may use language in the law to slow or stop release of the files by launching a new bogus Epstein investigation,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the committee. “The Oversight Committee subpoena does not allow the administration to hold back the Epstein files for any reason. Oversight Democrats will continue to apply pressure and make it clear there is no justification for any cover up,” Garcia added.
