The Justice Department will begin handing over records tied to Jeffrey Epstein this Friday, according to House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer.
“Officials with the Department of Justice have informed us that the Department will begin to provide Epstein-related records to the Oversight Committee this week on Friday,” Comer said in a statement Monday, CNN reports.
This comes after Comer’s committee subpoenaed the DOJ for Epstein documents and set a firm deadline of August 19.
The announcement dropped the same day former Attorney General Bill Barr appeared before the committee behind closed doors. He’s the first of ten high-profile witnesses — including former presidents, attorneys general, and top FBI officials — subpoenaed to testify about what the government knew about Epstein, and when.
The pressure has been mounting in Congress, especially from Republicans, who’ve demanded transparency about Epstein’s connections, his death, and any possible ties to powerful figures. Comer admitted the DOJ may miss the August 19 deadline but said the records would be coming “very soon.”
Barr, who led the DOJ under President Trump when Epstein died in jail, was tight-lipped. He arrived early, didn’t speak to reporters, and left without comment.
During a break in the deposition, Comer spoke to the press. He said Barr still stands by the official ruling that Epstein died by suicide — but admitted there were serious lapses.
“There was a blind spot in the cameras. It seemed like there was a lot of stuff that was there to potentially aid in a suicide,” Comer said. “That is the general consensus.”
Comer added that Barr denied any link between Epstein and Donald Trump.
“He said that he had never seen anything that would implicate President Trump in any of this,” Comer said. “He never had conversations with President Trump pertaining to a client list.”
Comer also took aim at Democrats, saying: “Democrats’ goal is to try to dig up some type of dirt on President Trump.”
Barr had previously called the jail’s handling of Epstein “appalling” and “unacceptable.” After Epstein’s death in 2019, Barr ordered an FBI probe and a separate internal investigation. In 2023, the DOJ’s inspector general confirmed a long list of security failures but found no evidence of foul play.
Not everyone is convinced Republicans are taking this seriously. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) said, “Right now, it doesn’t seem like that. It seems like they are going through the motions and they want people to believe that they are digging in.”
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) added, “I don’t think we’re learning much from the questioning from the House Republicans. It doesn’t seem like this is something where they are truly caring about the victims.”
Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has delayed a full House vote to publicly release the DOJ’s Epstein records until at least September. He says he supports transparency but wants to give the administration more time.
In addition to Barr, the Oversight Committee has subpoenaed nine other political heavyweights, including former Attorneys General Merrick Garland, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, and Alberto Gonzales; former FBI Director James Comey; former special counsel Robert Mueller; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; and former President Bill Clinton.
