BURSTThe House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Tuesday made public a batch of files it said it received from the Justice Department (DOJ) in response to its subpoena for documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The committee said the information released Tuesday, posted in multiple files and folders on Google Drive and Dropbox, includes 33,295 pages of material provided to the panel by the Justice Department earlier this month.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) had subpoenaed the DOJ for the “Epstein Files” in August, pursuant to a Democratic-led motion in a subcommittee. Republicans say that more disclosures from the DOJ are expected.
House Oversight Committee ranking member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) previously said that the “overwhelming majority” of the documents provided to the panel were already public.
That appears to include a court decision, videos from outside Epstein's jail cell and of his home, and audio files of the interview Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell did with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche this year.
Other Democrats on the panel say the move is an attempt to prolong the disclosures to thwart the subpoena.
The first batch of information appears to include a court decision, videos from outside Epstein's jail cell and of his home, and audio files of the interview Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell did with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche this year, all of which had previously been made public.
The disclosure comes as House GOP leaders are hoping to squash a rebellion by GOP members who are demanding more action to release Epstein material, which had roiled the House in July.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Tuesday filed a discharge petition to try to force action on his bill with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to require more Epstein disclosures. The petition would need support from at least five other Republicans to reach 218 signatures, enabling them to bypass leadership and force action on the legislation.
But Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Tuesday that the discharge petition effort is “moot” given the Oversight panel’s investigation and releases.
“34,000 Epstein documents have already been collected. We will not stop there,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “This is the beginning and not the end, and they are going through very carefully, because we have two ultimate objectives, here: We want to bring justice to every single person who is involved in the Epstein evils and the cover up thereof, but we also want to be equally certain we protect the innocent victims.”
Comer has also subpoenaed the Epstein estate for material, with lawmakers expecting it will include the infamous “birthday book” that the Wall Street Journal reported included a message from President Trump.
Comer said Tuesday that he plans to make that material public, as well.
“We're going to do everything we can to give the American public the transparency they seek,” Comer said.