A Republican-led US House of Representatives committee announced on Tuesday that it has released more than 33,000 pages of files related to the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. This move by party leadership was intended to put an end to a push by a bipartisan group of lawmakers who were trying to force a vote on the matter.
The case of Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019, has been a political issue for Republican President Donald Trump, especially after many of his supporters embraced various conspiracy theories surrounding the case. A July Reuters/Ipsos poll found that a majority of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, believe the government is hiding details about the case.
The files released on Tuesday primarily consist of court documents and other information that had already been made public. Democratic US Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts commented on X, “Nearly everything Republicans just supposedly ‘released’ … has already been released.”
Republican US Representative Thomas Massie and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California have proposed a measure that would compel the Justice Department to release all unclassified Epstein records, including those held by the FBI and US attorneys’ offices. Massie and Khanna are scheduled to hold a press conference with Epstein’s victims on Wednesday morning. Massie told the Axios news outlet that he would continue to push for the measure despite the latest document release.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that Massie’s petition was “inartfully drafted” because it lacked language to protect the identities of the victims who were sexually abused by Epstein. Johnson also said that the petition is “moot” given the work of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which released the thousands of pages of files. “It’s superfluous at this point, and I think we’re achieving the desired end here,” Johnson said.
The materials released on Tuesday included at least eight videos of what appear to be police interviews with victims, some of which are timestamped from 2005 and 2006. In one video, a girl whose appearance and name were edited out said Epstein paid her $350 for a massage and sex when she was 17 years old. “He has the girls take off their clothes and give him a massage,” she said in the 17-minute video. Other records included audio recordings from the criminal investigation in Florida, including what seemed to be an interview with a victim whose name and date of birth were edited out. The committee has also subpoenaed the DOJ and Epstein’s estate for documents and sought a deposition from convicted Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
