The Republican-led House Oversight Committee released a report detailing the findings of its months-long investigation into the government’s mishandling of criminal probes into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Released Tuesday, the 137-page report cleared President Donald Trump of wrongdoing, while concluding that the federal government had “failed” survivors for decades.
“We conducted 19 witness interviews or depositions, subpoenaed the Department of Justice, Epstein’s estate and two major banks and reviewed financial records from the Department of the Treasury to uncover the truth,” GOP Rep. James Comer, the committee chair, said in a video. “What we found is both heartbreaking and infuriating.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, the leading Democrat on the committee, denounced the report as “based on an incomplete investigation and zero public hearings on Jeffrey Epstein.” The findings were published one week after the midterm elections, when Democrats reclaimed control of both the House and the Senate. The committee is set to be chaired by a Democrat in January, when the new Congress is sworn in.
Here are the report’s key findings:
- The federal government ‘failed survivors for decades,’ including by granting Epstein a non-prosecution agreement.
- Despite Democrats’ obsession with implicating Trump, no evidence emerged he was involved in Epstein’s crimes.
- The Department of Justice must take “further action,” including by interviewing key witnesses.
- Major financial institutions failed to respond to “clear indicators of human trafficking and immigration fraud.”
- Congress should pass a bill to “prevent the weaponization of nondisclosure agreements to silence survivors.”
The committee began investigating the government’s handling of probes into Epstein and Maxwell last year, when the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files sparked widespread controversy. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after she was found guilty of sex crimes. Esptein died by suicide in 2019 inside a jail cell while awaiting trial.
A number of high profile figures have been interviewed by lawmakers, including former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, billionaires Les Wexner and Bill Gates, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and former Attorney General Pam Bondi. All have denied wrongdoing, and several who were asked said they had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities during their association with him.
For months, Republicans on the committee have publicly defended Trump, claiming they’ve seen no evidence implicating the president and casting Democratic efforts as a witch hunt. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican on the committee, said in February that Bill Clinton’s testimony had “exonerated” Trump.
Trump’s name appears repeatedly in the Epstein files, and the disgraced financier once said he was Trump’s “closest friend.” The president has said he cut ties with Epstein years ago and that Democrats are perpetuating a “hoax.” He has not been charged with a crime and denied any involvement.
Democrats, meanwhile, have accused the committee's GOP leadership of failing to conduct a thorough investigation.
“You didn't hold a single public hearing,” Oversight Democrats said Tuesday in response to Comer’s report. “You didn't say anything when the DOJ withheld 2.5 million missing files. You didn't bring in [Attorney General] Todd Blanche after saying you would.”
“We will not allow the President and his allies to dismiss this investigation,” they added. “We're just getting started.”
According to an October YouGov survey, 58 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Trump has handled investigations into Epstein, while just 26 percent approve.
More on the report’s findings
The committee concluded that the crimes committed by Epstein — who was charged with sex trafficking minors before his 2019 death — could have been prevented if not for “failures” by prosecutors in Florida and Washington, D.C., as well as federal investigators.
Committee members specifically called attention to Epstein’s 2007 non-prosecution agreement, which they said enabled crimes after 2005. The committee found the deal allowed him to evade federal prosecution for lesser state charges. Federal prosecutors also failed to inform victims, which impacted their ability to pursue civil cases or tell the public.
Committee members determined that while some failures resulted from “poor judgment” by prosecutors, others appeared to be influenced by Epstein’s far-reaching connections.
The New York prison that housed Epstein after his 2019 arrest had constant understaffing and dysfunction, including guards missing 12 rounds and three inmate counts on the night Epstein died, the committee noted.
“This resulted in nearly eight hours without adequate supervision of Epstein and other inmates,” the committee stated.
Lawmakers also highlighted the Justice Department’s failure to “adequately communicate about document releases” following the enactment of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
GOP lawmakers accused Democrats of having been “obsessed” with implicating Trump in Epstein and Maxwell’s crimes.
“The consensus of every witness examined before the Committee was that President Trump––to their knowledge––was not involved in any crimes committed by Epstein and Maxwell,” the report states.
The report did make several recommendations to the DOJ moving forward, and called on the Justice Department to interview key witnesses, possible accomplices and victims.
“DOJ should establish an appropriate process for Epstein survivors and their representatives to access their personal files and records in unredacted form,” the committee stated.
Justice officials should also scrutinize non-prosecution agreements to ensure they do not “enable and empower criminals,” the committee stated.
Major financial institutions were also accused of failing to respond to “clear indicators of human trafficking and immigration fraud.” Despite being aware of Epstein’s criminal history and identifying suspicious transactions, institutions allowed him to “use fraudulent decoy flights and refundable or dummy itineraries to transport foreign women across borders directly to his residences.”
“The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) should review whether financial institutions are meeting their reporting obligations designed to detect and prevent suspicious activities, including money laundering and human trafficking,” the committee said in a release about the report.
Finally, GOP lawmakers on the committee said that Congress should pass a bill to “prevent the weaponization of nondisclosure agreements to silence survivors of sexual abuse.”
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