Washington — A House committee on Wednesday voted to subpoena the Justice Department for files related to the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as Republican leaders have resisted action on the issue.
Democrats on a subcommittee for the House Oversight panel forced a vote on the subpoena, and three Republicans voted alongside Democratic members. House GOP leaders have opposed a separate measure that would force the Justice Department to release materials on Epstein, and President Trump has urged his supporters to move beyond the issue.
The motion to subpoena the Justice Department, which was offered by Democratic Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, passed in an 8-2 vote. Republican Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Brian Jack of Georgia voted in favor.
Republicans amended the subpoena to also include Epstein-related communications between former President Joe Biden, Biden administration officials and the Justice Department.
The subcommittee also approved by voice vote subpoenas for former President Bill Clinton; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller; and former attorneys general Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales. The motion was introduced by Perry.
“The American people want to know what’s in that file,” Lee said. “The American people want transparency. At the end of the day, we have to send a message that whether you are the littlest guy or you are the most powerful person in this nation, that if you commit a crime, if you do things that we aren’t supposed to do, that there will be some accountability.”
Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the House Oversight Committee chairman, will issue the subpoenas in the future, a committee aide told CBS News. Comer was not present for the subcommittee votes.
In the past, the Justice Department has sought to avoid handing over information about criminal investigations to Congress.
The Epstein case has drawn more attention in recent weeks, since a Justice Department and FBI review asserted that Epstein had no incriminating “client list” and died by suicide in federal custody.
Earlier Wednesday, Comer subpoenaed Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell to sit for a deposition as fallout over the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein case intensifies. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for her role in helping Epstein recruit, groom and abuse underage girls. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 as he faced sex trafficking charges.
The Trump administration has been under pressure to release more information on Epstein. Last week, the Justice Department asked judges to unseal grand jury transcripts on Epstein and Maxwell’s cases. Those requests need to be reviewed by federal courts, and a judge in Florida earlier Wednesday denied a request to unseal grand jury records for investigations into Epstein in the 2000s.
contributed to this report.
