Republican US House committee releases thousands of Epstein files
The case of Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019, has caused a political headache for Republican President Donald Trump, after many of his supporters embraced a slew of conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein
Highlights:
- Files include video of apparent Epstein victim interviews
- Audio recordings from Florida investigation into Epstein released
- Most documents appear to be previously released
A Republican-led US House of Representatives committee on Tuesday said it released more than 33,000 pages of files on the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as party leadership looked to end a push by a bipartisan pair of lawmakers to force a vote on the matter.
The case of Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019, has caused a political headache for Republican President Donald Trump, after many of his supporters embraced a slew of conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein.
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A July Reuters/Ipsos poll found that majorities of Americans and of Trump's Republicans believe the government is hiding details on the case.
The files released on Tuesday largely included court documents and other previously released information.
"Nearly everything Republicans just supposedly 'released' ... has already been released," said Democratic US Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts in a post on X.
Republican US Representative Thomas Massie and Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, have proposed a measure that would require the Justice Department to release all of its unclassified Epstein records, including those held by the FBI and US attorneys' offices.
Massie and Khanna will hold a press conference with Epstein victims on Wednesday morning. Massie told the Axios news outlet on Tuesday that he would push ahead despite the latest document release.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Massie's petition was "inartfully drafted" because it lacked language that would protect the identities of victims who were sexually abused by Epstein.
Johnson also said the petition is "moot" due to the work of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which released thousands of pages of files.
"It's superfluous at this point, and I think we're achieving the desired end here," Johnson said
The materials released on Tuesday included at least eight videos of apparent police interviews with victims. Several of the interviews are timestamped from 2005 and 2006.
In one video, a girl whose appearance and name are edited out said Epstein paid her $350 for a massage and sex when she was 17 years old.
"He has the girls take off their clothes and give him a massage," she said in the 17-minute video.
Other records include audio recordings from the criminal investigation of Epstein in Florida, including what appeared to be an interview with a victim whose name and date of birth were edited out.
The committee has subpoenaed the DOJ and Epstein's estate for documents and convicted Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell for a deposition.
