House Panel Votes To Subpoena Epstein Files, Clintons, Ex-Law Enforcement Leaders

A House Oversight panel voted on Wednesday to subpoena files regarding deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and testimony from former President Bill Clinton, his wife and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and several ex-law enforcement leaders.

NBC News reported the Federal Law Enforcement Subcommittee passed a motion from Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) to issue a subpoena to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for records from Epstein-related investigations.

“The American people deserve transparency and accountability, and his victims deserve justice,” Lee declared in a post on X. “The wealthy and powerful are not above the law.”

Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC), Scott Perry (R-PA) and Brian Jack (R-GA) joined with five Democrats in approving the measure. Subcommittee Chairman Clay Higgins (R-LA) and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) voted against it.

As noted by The Hill, Mace succeeded in amending the motion to ensure that the identities of victims, personally identifying information, and possible child sexual abuse material are redacted.

The panel also voted to approve a motion from Perry to subpoena the Clintons, former FBI Directors James Comey and Robert Mueller, and former Attorneys General Merrick Garland, Eric Holder, William Barr, Loretta Lynch, Jeff Sessions, and Alberto Gonzales.

Further, lawmakers opted to pass a measure from Biggs to demand “all communications between President Biden or the Biden officials and the prosecuting agency related to the Epstein prosecutors also be released.”

The subpoenas, which must be signed off by Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY), “will be issued in the future,” a panel spokesperson told reporters.

Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender with connections to several high-profile people, was found dead at the age of 66 in his New York City jail cell in 2019 — after being arrested on sex trafficking charges involving young girls.

A growing number of lawmakers have been pushing GOP House leadership on the disclosure issue after the Trump administration’s DOJ claimed it had no evidence that Epstein had a client list, blackmailed powerful people, or was murdered.

In adherence to an earlier vote from a different subcommittee this week, Comer announced on Wednesday that he subpoenaed Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell to participate in a deposition on August 11 at a federal correctional facility in Florida.

Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty of conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse underage girls. Her attorney told CNN that a discussion with the DOJ would inform how Maxwell would proceed.

Attorney General Pam Bondi asked judges to unseal grand jury testimony from the cases against Epstein and Maxwell at the behest of President Donald Trump, who has argued that people are falling for a “hoax” spun by the Democrats.

One federal judge denied the Trump administration’s request in Florida. on Wednesday. CBS News reported that judges who oversaw other cases in New York have yet to decide how to proceed.

A potential House vote on demanding the Trump administration release secret documents it has on Epstein, the focus of a bipartisan discharge petition that would force leadership’s hand, likely will not happen until after the August recess.

Democrats have accused GOP leadership of balking on Epstein transparency, while Republicans have raised questions about why their colleagues across the aisle did not seem interested in the issue when they had power.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said this week that Congress needs to give the Trump administration “space,” but would consider action if it became necessary. He also said House Republicans want “maximum transparency.”