House Oversight subcommittee votes to subpoena DOJ for Epstein files

By Veronica Stracqualursi, Manu Raju, Annie Grayer, Ted Barrett, CNN

(CNN) — In a surprise move, a House Oversight subcommittee voted Wednesday to subpoena the Department of Justice for files related to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a highly contentious issue that has exposed major divisions within the Republican party.

The Epstein investigation and demands from many of President Donald Trump’s supporters for more information has roiled the House in recent days, with Wednesday’s vote amounting to a show of defiance by some House Republicans against Speaker Mike Johnson – who has attempted to tamp down on efforts to push the release of the so-called Epstein files.

As pressure mounted this week, Johnson shut the door on the possibility of a House vote on releasing information on Epstein before the August recess and moved to send lawmakers home early after it became clear that the issue was not going to fade away. Johnson has said that he supports transparency and has argued that the Trump administration should be granted space to handle the matter before Congress intervenes, pointing to the Trump administration’s push to unseal the grand jury materials related to the case.

Democratic Rep. Summer Lee forced the vote in the GOP-led subcommittee, bringing a motion to subpoena the Trump DOJ for all records related to the Epstein investigation. The motion passed, 8-2, with three of the panel’s Republicans joining with Democrats.

GOP Reps. Nancy Mace, Scott Perry and Brian Jack joined with the subpanel’s four Democrats and the full committee’s ranking member Robert Garcia to approve the subpoena. House Oversight Chair James Comer will be required to sign the subpoena before it can officially be issued, according to committee rules.

The subpoena calls for the Epstein files in the Justice Department’s possession to be provided to Congress, but the names of the victims to be redacted. It also calls for communications between former Biden officials and the Justice Department related to the Epstein matter, in addition to depositions among some major figures, including Bill and Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey.

The subpoena would force the Justice Department to potentially turn over far more voluminous files than were presented to the grand jury, including some that might reference Trump. In May, Attorney General Pam Bondi briefed Trump that his name, along with other high-profile people’s names, appeared in files reviewed by the department related to the case, sources told CNN. It wasn’t clear in what context Trump’s name appears in the files.

The subcommittee’s chairman, GOP Rep. Clay Higgins, said he did not know when the subpoenas would be issued.

Perry told CNN that he voted for the motion because “I just think it’s important that the American people know what’s occurred.”

Pressed about Trump’s calls for the public to move on from the Epstein controversy, Perry said that he’s been “very clear on my opinion on this issue for a long time.”

Earlier Wednesday, Comer also subpoenaed Epstein’s former associate Ghislaine Maxwell for a deposition. Trump’s Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is also expected to talk soon to Maxwell, who was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in federal prison for carrying out a years-long scheme with Epstein to groom and sexually abuse underage girls.

Key GOP Senate committee chairs say they won’t investigate Epstein controversy

Meanwhile, two of the three key Senate Republican committee chairs with the power to investigate the Epstein matter said they won’t, reflecting a broader lack of interest among many Senate Republicans to pursue the hot-button and evolving issue.

“No, the answer is no,” Sen. Rand Paul, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said when asked if he would probe the issue. “Not on our agenda.”

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson, who chairs the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation, a powerful post that is part of Paul’s committee, also said he’s not interested in leading an investigation despite being “as curious as anybody” about the case.

“I think there’s enough people looking at it and I try not to duplicate efforts,” Johnson said. “Listen, I’m as curious as anybody. I mean the whole situation is odd.”

The Republican from Wisconsin added, “I can understand President Trump’s frustration, but also understand the American public’s interest in what happened here.”

“Other people are doing it. I’ve got enough other things that I’m worried about,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said.

Grassley also said he is holding off to see if the DOJ will be able to publicly release grand jury transcripts in the case. He expects the Epstein issue to be discussed when Bondi testifies before the committee during an upcoming oversight hearing.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said that it would be up to the committee chairs to determine if probes were to happen, so their lack of an appetite signals there may not be a full Senate investigation.

CNN’s Nicky Robertson and Molly English contributed to this report.

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