The Division of Justice constructing is seen on July 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. The Home Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the DOJ for information associated to its investigation of Jeffrey Epstein.
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The Home Oversight Committee has subpoenaed the Division of Justice for information associated to its investigation of convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime affiliate Ghislaine Maxwell.
The subpoena, one in all 11 formally issued on Tuesday, requires “all paperwork and communications relating or referring to” Epstein and Maxwell, together with data contained of their respective court docket instances, by August 19. It got here practically two weeks after Republicans on one of many panel’s subcommittees joined with Democrats and voted to direct committee chair James Comer, R-Ky., to subpoena the DOJ.
“Whereas the Division undertakes efforts to uncover and publicly disclose further data associated to Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell’s instances, it’s crucial that Congress conduct oversight of the federal authorities’s enforcement of intercourse trafficking legal guidelines usually and particularly its dealing with of the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell,” Comer mentioned in a canopy letter addressed to Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi.
The DOJ declined to remark.
Along with the DOJ subpoena, Comer issued subpoenas searching for testimony from a number of former authorities officers. The checklist contains former President Invoice Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in addition to high regulation enforcement officers from earlier administrations, together with former FBI administrators James Comey and Robert Mueller and former attorneys normal Merrick Garland and Invoice Barr.
Home Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., waits for the beginning of a listening to on the U.S. Capitol on June 12.
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The committee is hoping to start the depositions in mid-August and proceed them into the autumn, in line with Comer’s assertion.
A possible conflict between Congress and the White Home
The subpoena for DOJ information dangers a possible conflict between Congress and the White Home over the Epstein saga. For practically a month, President Trump has tried to curb mounting frustration from his base and calls for extra transparency, following the discharge of a DOJ memo saying there was no proof of an alleged “shopper checklist” held by Epstein.
Trump has tried to reduce among the questions and criticism on the difficulty by lobbying for the discharge of grand jury testimony related to Epstein, who died in jail whereas ready to go on trial on intercourse trafficking fees in 2019. The administration can be searching for the discharge of grand jury testimony from the trial for Maxwell, who’s serving a 20-year sentence on intercourse trafficking and different fees.
In a court docket submitting submitted on Tuesday, Maxwell’s legal professionals pushed again towards the federal government’s try to make the transcripts public, arguing it might negatively influence her efforts to have the Supreme Court docket overview her case.
“Public curiosity is inadequate when Maxwell’s authorized and reputational pursuits are at stake,” legal professionals for Maxwell wrote. “These components weigh closely in favor of preserving the secrecy of the grand jury supplies.”
The administration has additionally tried to hunt out data immediately from Maxwell. On the finish of July, Deputy Legal professional Normal Todd Blanche spent two days interviewing her behind closed doorways, a transfer authorized specialists argued was uncommon for a senior DOJ official.
The DOJ has not publicized what was mentioned within the assembly.
Final Friday, Maxwell was additionally moved from the federal jail in Florida the place she had been serving her sentence to a jail camp in Texas. Regardless of confirming the switch, the Federal Bureau of Prisons didn’t present particulars on the circumstances.
When requested by reporters on Tuesday if he accepted Maxwell’s switch, Trump mentioned he didn’t have any information of the transfer.
“I did not find out about it in any respect, no. I examine it identical to you probably did. It isn’t a really unusual factor,” he mentioned.
Trump was additionally pressed about Blanche’s sit-down with Maxwell and her credibility.
“I did not discuss to him about it,” he mentioned. “However I’ll let you know that no matter he requested can be completely applicable.”
