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The House Oversight Committee on Tuesday released thousands of files it has received from the Justice Department on the sex trafficking investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, bowing to growing bipartisan pressure to make more of the case public.
But the release — posted in a sprawling Google Drive folder — mostly contained records and videos already available through public sources. The material included hundreds of pages of old court filings, body cam footage from searches, and transcripts of victim interviews dating back nearly two decades.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the panel’s top Democrat, said the release was misleading. “The 33,000 pages of Epstein documents James Comer has decided to ‘release’ were already mostly public information,” Garcia said in a statement. “To the American people — don’t let this fool you.”
What was in the files
The committee’s document dump included interviews with victims describing Epstein’s abuse, emails from Florida prosecutors debating the terms of Epstein’s 2008 plea deal, and heavily redacted records from his earlier cases.
One interview transcript detailed how an Epstein employee told law enforcement that “a lot of girls that were very, very young” visited the financier’s home, though he could not confirm if they were minors. Another file showed a Palm Beach prosecutor frustrated with Epstein’s legal team, writing: “His client is a registered sex offender that was fortunate to get the deal of the century.”
Many of the files, however, were stamped with notations showing they had already been released years ago, some as early as 2017, raising questions about why the Oversight Committee presented them as new.
Survivors meet with lawmakers
The release came the same day that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers met privately with six Epstein survivors on Capitol Hill.
“The objective here is not just to uncover, investigate the Epstein evils, but also to ensure that this never happens again and ultimately to find out why justice has been delayed for these ladies for so very long,” Johnson said after the meeting. “It is inexcusable. And it will stop now because the Congress is dialed in on this.”
Political battle over full disclosure
The document release did little to cool the ongoing fight in Congress over how far lawmakers should go in forcing transparency. A bipartisan bill sponsored by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) would require the Justice Department to release all Epstein-related files, with redactions only for victims’ personal details.
On Tuesday night, Massie began collecting signatures for a discharge petition — a rare procedural move that could force a House vote if he secures the support of every Democrat and at least five Republicans. Three Republicans have signed on so far, leaving Massie two short.
Even if the bill passes the House, it would need Senate approval and President Donald Trump’s signature to become law.
A fight far from over
The clash underscores the enduring political pressure around the Epstein case, which has fueled conspiracy theories since Epstein’s 2019 jailhouse death. Johnson has sought to keep the inquiry within the Oversight Committee, while Democrats and some Republicans are pushing for broader, mandatory disclosure.
“We continue to bring the pressure. We’re not going to stop until we get justice for all of the survivors and the victims,” Garcia told reporters.
