The Home Oversight and Authorities Reform Committee on Tuesday made public a batch of recordsdata it stated it acquired from the Justice Division (DOJ) in response to its subpoena for paperwork associated to the late intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The committee stated the knowledge launched Tuesday, posted in a number of recordsdata and folders on Google Drive and Dropbox, consists of 33,295 pages of fabric supplied to the panel by the Justice Division final month.
Home Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) had subpoenaed the DOJ for the “Epstein Files” in August, pursuant to a Democratic-led movement in a subcommittee. Republicans say that extra disclosures from the DOJ are anticipated.
The paperwork launched Tuesday embody a courtroom determination, movies from outdoors Epstein’s jail cell and of his Florida house, and audio recordsdata of the interview Epstein affiliate Ghislaine Maxwell did with Deputy Lawyer Normal Todd Blanche this yr, all of which had already been made public.
Home Oversight Committee rating member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) beforehand stated that the “overwhelming majority” of the paperwork supplied to the panel had been already public, and different Democrats on the panel say the transfer is an try to lengthen the disclosures to thwart the subpoena.
The disclosure comes as Home GOP leaders are hoping to squash a revolt by GOP members who’re demanding extra motion to launch Epstein materials, which had roiled the Home in July.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Tuesday filed a discharge petition to attempt to power motion on his invoice with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to require extra Epstein disclosures. The petition would wish help from at the least 5 different Republicans to succeed in 218 signatures, enabling them to bypass management and power motion on the laws.
However Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) stated Tuesday that the discharge petition effort is “moot” given the Oversight panel’s investigation and releases.
“34,000 Epstein documents have already been collected. We will not stop there,” Johnson informed reporters on Tuesday. “This is the beginning and not the end, and they are going through very carefully, because we have two ultimate objectives, here: We want to bring justice to every single person who is involved in the Epstein evils and the cover up thereof, but we also want to be equally certain we protect the innocent victims.”
Comer has additionally subpoenaed the Epstein property for materials, with lawmakers anticipating it’s going to embody the notorious “birthday book” that the Wall Avenue Journal reported included a message from President Trump.
Comer stated Tuesday that he plans to make that materials public, as properly.
“We’re going to do everything we can to give the American public the transparency they seek,” Comer stated.
