The Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee released a report Tuesday on its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, concluding that the federal government mishandled criminal investigations into the disgraced financier and failed his survivors, NPR reported.
"Epstein operated with impunity, shielded and enabled by powerful connections and a justice system that repeatedly failed his victims," said committee Chair James Comer, a Kentucky Republican. The report followed 15 months of interviews with 19 people, including former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Many interviews were held behind closed doors, with transcripts released later. Appearing in the Justice Department's Epstein files or before the committee is not necessarily an indication of criminal wrongdoing, NPR noted.
The report said the facts revealed by the investigation do not suggest President Donald Trump was implicated in any of Epstein's crimes, and it accused Democrats of an "unfounded witch hunt" for trying to insinuate that he was. Trump has long said he had a falling out with Epstein before Epstein was indicted in 2006 for soliciting prostitution. In February, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told NPR that "just as President Trump has said, he's been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein." Incoming committee chair Rep. Robert Garcia, a California Democrat, called the report "partisan." "Oversight Republicans have released a report based on an incomplete investigation and zero public hearings on Jeffrey Epstein," Garcia said. "We intend to hold real public hearings uplifting survivors and asking tough questions of the powerful men who associated with Epstein, including Donald Trump."
A 'sweetheart deal,' files and what comes next
Epstein was arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges in 2019 and later died in prison; authorities determined the death was a suicide. The report concludes that if not for "failures" of federal prosecutors in South Florida and Washington, crimes after 2005 could have been prevented. Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14 has long been criticized as a "sweetheart deal"; he served 13 months in Palm Beach County Jail with a 12-hour work release and had to register as a sex offender. Ghislaine Maxwell is the only associate charged and sentenced to prison, the report said. In June the committee interviewed Sarah Kellen, a longtime Epstein assistant who says she is also a survivor; according to the report, she named two men in transcribed testimony that the committee sent to the Justice Department, which has not announced investigations into them.
The report also said the Trump Justice Department did not adequately communicate about the release of Epstein files or protect survivors' personal information after the 2025 Epstein Transparency Act, and that some financial institutions failed to act on indicators of trafficking and immigration fraud. The Justice Department said Attorney General Todd Blanche has repeatedly stated that "the Epstein case is not closed and there is no statute of limitations on human trafficking," and that "the Chairman's recommendations have already been addressed." The Treasury Department did not immediately comment, NPR reported.