What Former Attorney General Barr Told House Investigators About Trump and Jeffrey Epstein

President Donald Trump never provided views or instructions relating to the prosecution of the criminal case against convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, former Attorney General William Barr told House investigators Monday.

Barr was the second attorney general during Trump’s first term. He and other former attorneys general and two former FBI directors were subpoenaed by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to give closed-door congressional testimony on the Epstein case.

Barr also said he never saw any evidence suggesting Trump committed a crime, according to a source familiar with the deposition. Barr further said if such incriminating evidence existed, the Biden Justice Department would have surely released it.

Barr and Trump have had an estranged relationship after the two disagreed on whether the 2020 presidential election outcome was legitimate.

Barr was the first person to take questions from the committee Monday. On the way into the hearing room, he did not answer reporter questions. He told the committee that he stood by the conclusion that Epstein’s death was a suicide.

Epstein died in his prison cell from hanging, which law enforcement determined was a suicide. However, his cause of death has sparked suspicion from the public, as he was perceived to have potentially compromising information on powerful people.

House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., also subpoenaed several former attorneys general, as well as former President Bill Clinton and his wife, twice-losing presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state. They are set to go before the committee in October. 

“We are very excited that we have the first deposition in our bipartisan investigation into the entire Epstein Island saga,” Comer told reporters. “We’ve got a lot of questions for former Attorney General Barr. I appreciate his willingness to come in. Hopefully, this will be the first of many.”

The Epstein case has gained bipartisan curiosity after current Attorney General Pam Bondi recently declined to release additional information on the matter. Democrats, who long ignored the case, then used it to bludgeon the Trump administration, whereas many Republicans were anticipating more answers being released. 

The committee gave the Justice Department a deadline of Tuesday to provide the “full, complete, unredacted Epstein Files.” Comer said the Justice Department is complying with the committee’s request and will begin releasing information gradually.

“We’re having really good conversations. You have to imagine how many documents there are,” Comer added when asked if the DOJ would meet the deadline. “I think we’ll be receiving the documents very soon. They are compiling everything together. I think we are working together on a good-faith effort. I expect to get the documents very, very soon.”

Biden administration Attorney General Merrick Garland has been compelled for a deposition. Obama administration Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch were both called, as well as Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions. Also, George W. Bush’s second attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, was subpoenaed.

Two former FBI directors, Robert Mueller and James Comey, were also called for a deposition. Gonzalez is set to take questions on Aug. 26. Sessions is set for Aug. 28. The other subpoenas call for testimony in September and October.

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