US House Republicans have subpoenaed the justice department, former president Bill Clinton and nearly a dozen other former federal officials for information about the late financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation, setting up a potential confrontation with the Trump administration.
US president Donald Trump and his top aides have faced a firestorm over their handling of the Epstein case, with supporters and critics alike demanding they release documents, financial records and information about Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation and who may have committed crimes against underage girls.
Even as the House subpoena swept in Mr Clinton and his wife Hillary, Democrats’ 2016 presidential nominee, the move threatens to douse fresh accelerant on an issue that has bedevilled Mr Trump and Republicans over the last several weeks.
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Democrats made life so politically painful for House Republicans over Epstein that speaker Mike Johnson sent the House home early for its August break to avoid votes on publicly releasing the Epstein files. Democrats had repeatedly offered amendments to legislation to compel the administration to make the files public and Republican leaders halted work on significant legislation.
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Mr Trump has acknowledged he had a personal relationship with Epstein long ago and attended social gatherings with him, but has denied knowing anything about his sex-trafficking operation.
The Wall Street Journal stoked new controversy over Mr Trump’s relationship with Epstein with a story last month that said the president once sent a suggestive birthday letter to Epstein. Mr Trump denied the story and sued the news organisation.
House oversight committee chairman James Comer, a Trump ally, demanded in a letter Tuesday to attorney general Pam Bondi the “full, complete, unredacted Epstein files”, including information about his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in sexually abusing underage women.
He also issued subpoenas for depositions from an array of former high-ranking FBI and justice department officials, including former FBI director James Comey.
The panel gave the justice department until August 19th to turn over records related to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 as he faced sex-trafficking charges. A justice department spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did a spokesperson for the Clintons.
Bill Clinton, who has acknowledged travelling on Epstein’s private plane, has previously denied knowing anything about the financier’s sex trafficking.
Mr Comer’s panel already subpoenaed Maxwell for an August 11th deposition. But her lawyers have demanded criminal immunity in return for her testimony and Mr Comer hasn’t agreed to the request.
The justice department has asked federal courts to unseal grand jury materials related to Epstein’s case, but hasn’t voluntarily released information in its possession. The department has indicated in court filings that the grand jury material is limited and probably will not shed new light on what is already publicly known about Epstein’s operation.
In comparison, the department has a huge collection of documents and files obtained during the investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, including interviews with witnesses and victims.
The subpoena to the department seeks all documents and communications related to seven different categories, including the criminal cases against Epstein and Maxwell and information about Epstein’s death. – Bloomberg
