Some in Congress want more Jeffrey Epstein material released than White House has sought
It's put President Trump's allies in Congress in a bind as they try to balance the Republican base's demands for the release of all Epstein-related files against the White House's desire to move on.
For now, Mr. Trump has asked that only federal grand jury transcripts be made public. One of the Justice Department's requests to unseal grand jury transcripts has been denied. The Trump administration has asked for grand jury transcripts related to investigations into Epstein in 2005 and 2007 in Florida, as well as transcripts related to separate grand juries convened in New York that resulted in charges against Epstein in 2019 and against his partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking charges in 2021.
Some Republicans have rebelled and are backing efforts to make more details public. Meanwhile, Democrats are fanning the flames by trying to force Republicans to take politically risky votes on the issue and accusing the GOP of trying to hide something.
"What are they hiding from the American people? Release the files so that the American people can make a decision on their own," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said this week.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said Wednesday that "No one in Congress is blocking Epstein documents." A day earlier, Johnson announced the lower chamber would be heading home early as members clashed over the Epstein issue.
A bipartisan effort led by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California to compel the release of Epstein-related files could have enough support to force a floor vote soon after House lawmakers return from their five-week break in September.
The legislation, known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act, would require the Justice Department to release much more than the grand jury testimony that the president has asked courts to make public.
It calls for the release of documents relating to all investigations into the disgraced financier and his accomplice Maxwell, flight logs and travel records, names of individuals and entities referenced in any Epstein case and internal Justice Department communications. It would also make public any records "concerning the destruction, deletion, alteration, misplacement, or concealment of documents, recordings, or electronic data" related to Epstein and his associates, as well as documentation about his death.
Supporters of the legislation said it's necessary because it would be legally binding, unlike a Republican resolution — which may not ever get a vote — that was offered last week as a way to quiet dissent. The resolution from Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina calls for the release of much of the same documentation, but would carry no legal weight if the Trump administration does not follow through.
Epstein died by suicide while in federal custody in Manhattan as he was facing sex trafficking charges in 2019. Prosecutors alleged he exploited and abused dozens of underage girls from 2002 through 2005. In Florida in 2008, he pleaded guilty to two state prostitution charges — one of them for soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18.
During Mr. Trump's first term, his labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, resigned following criticism of his handling of Epstein's 2008 plea deal when he was a federal prosecutor in Florida. Epstein served 13 months in a jail work-release program after he was originally accused of sexually abusing dozens of girls and young women.
Johnson argued the Massie-Khanna effort does not include enough protections for Epstein's victims. He said Congress has a moral and legal obligation "to protect the people who have been the victims of these unspeakable crimes so that their names are not drug through the mud."
On Wednesday, three Republicans on a House Oversight subcommittee voted with all Democrats on the panel to subpoena the Justice Department for the Epstein files. The White House has not responded to the latest congressional efforts, although Mr. Trump has referred to the whole saga as a "hoax," as his administration faces criticism over the handling of the Epstein files.
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, has been looking into Epstein's financial network for three years and has called on the Trump administration to release the Treasury's records.
Last year, the Biden administration allowed committee staff to look at portions of the confidential file. Wyden said it shows more than 4,700 in potentially suspicious wire transfers adding up to nearly $1.1 billion flowing in and out of just one of Epstein's bank accounts and hundreds of millions through other accounts.
Wyden sent a letter this week to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging the Justice Department to further investigate Epstein's financial transactions and whether several big banks turned a blind eye to suspicious transfers. The senator's office said the attorney general has not yet responded. The Justice Department has not yet responded to a request for comment.
"The Treasury Department's Epstein file contains significant information on the sources of funding behind Epstein's sex trafficking activities," Wyden wrote. "Epstein clearly had access to enormous financing to operate his sex trafficking network, and the details on how he got the cash to pay for it are sitting in a Treasury Department filing cabinet."
Lawmakers are also seeking testimony from Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 for her role in helping Epstein recruit, groom and abuse underage girls. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Maxwell on Wednesday, requesting that she sit for a deposition in August "to inform the consideration of potential legislative solutions to improve federal efforts to combat sex trafficking and reform the use of non-prosecution agreements and/or plea agreements in sex-crime investigations."
Todd Blanche, the second-highest ranking official at the Justice Department, is meeting with Maxwell on Thursday at the U.S. attorney's office in Tallahassee.
The Justice Department announced earlier this month that a review of evidence in the Epstein case found no indication of a "client list" and said no more files would be released, citing victims' privacy. The decision upset Trump supporters who believe that the federal government has concealed information about Epstein to protect powerful figures.
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