US House committee issues subpoenas for Epstein files and Clinton depositions
The Republican-controlled committee also issued subpoenas for depositions with former president Bill Clinton, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and eight former top law enforcement officials.
The committee's actions showed how even with members away from Washington on a monthlong break, interest in the Epstein files is still running high.
Mr Trump has repeatedly tried to move past the Justice Department's decision not to release a full accounting of the investigation, but politicians from both major political parties, as well as many in the Republican president's political base, have refused to let it go.
US President Donald Trump speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania on Sunday (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)
Since Epstein's 2019 death in a New York jail cell as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges, conservative conspiracists have stoked theories about what information investigators gathered on Epstein – and who else could have been involved.
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee nodded to that line of questioning last month by initiating the subpoenas for the Clintons, both Democrats, as well as demanding all communications between former president Joe Biden's Democratic administration and the Justice Department regarding Epstein.
The committee is also demanding interviews under oath from former attorneys general spanning the last three presidential administrations: Merrick Garland, William Barr, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder and Alberto Gonzales.
Also subpoenaed were former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller.
However, it was Democrats who sparked the move to subpoena the Justice Department for its files on Epstein. They were joined by some Republicans to initiate successfully the subpoena through a subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee.
'Democrats are focused on transparency and are pushing back against the corruption of Donald Trump,' Robert Garcia, who is the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told reporters last month. 'What is Donald Trump hiding that he won't release the Epstein files?'
The committee had previously issued a subpoena for an interview with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend, who had been serving a prison sentence in Florida for luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by the wealthy financier but was recently transferred to a Texas facility.
However, the committee's Republican chairman, James Comer, has indicated he is willing to delay that deposition until after the Supreme Court decides whether to hear an appeal to her conviction. She argues she was wrongfully prosecuted.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Mick Clifford: Conspiracy theories are rampant but peddling them is reckless
Conspiracy theories have come in from the cold. There was a time when such theories were confined to the fringes, but no more. One only has to look at how the Jeffrey Epstein case has transfixed the American body politic. Donald Trump propagated the theory that some form of deep state — including Democrats — had questions to answer around associations with the late paedophile. Then he got into power and saw that it was in his best interests to dismiss these theories, but the followers he had pumped up are now even more suspicious. This is exclusive subscriber content. Already a subscriber? Sign in Take us with you this summer. Annual €130€65 Best value Monthly €12€6 / month
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Scott Lucas: Time for Democrats to make noise and get into trouble
Last week's statement from Kamala Harris, former vice president and Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential election, was brief and to the point. 'In recent months, I have given serious thought to asking the people of California for the privilege to serve as their governor. I love this state, its people, and its promise. It is my home. 'But after deep reflection, I've decided that I will not run for governor in this election. For now, my leadership — and public service — will not be in elected office.' If you listened closely, you might have heard the sigh of relief, not just from Democrats but from many independents across the US. It was not just that Harris, justly or unjustly pilloried for her loss to Donald Trump, will not be standing. It was that, with headline distractions about a 2028 presidential candidate out of the way, the Democratic Party and America might focus on the important issues at hand: the threat of Trump and his inner circle not just to the economy and to rights but to the future of the US system. Former US President Joe Biden (left) and Kamala Harris in January. After a promising start to the emergency Harris campaign, following the belated withdrawal of Joe Biden, The Democrats gave up the narrative on key issues — notably the economy and immigration — to Trump and his acolytes. File photo:In the months after electoral failure, some Democrats and many commentators have been busy with self-flagellation, doom, and gloom. The party has not only lost its way, but is in danger of putting itself on the political margins, they say. Democrats have not only lost the working class but are losing Hispanics and young constituents. Some of the critique is merited. The party failed badly in its communications in autumn 2024. After a promising start to the emergency Harris campaign, following the belated withdrawal of Joe Biden, it gave up the narrative on key issues — notably the economy and immigration — to Trump and his acolytes. Harris's performance in the sole debate was not enough to overtake the spectacle of Trump's lies, distortions, and craziness. That failure was replicated in key congressional races. So Democrats not only lost the White House, they failed to regain either the house or the senate. The Trumpists now dominated not only the executive but also the legislature and, through previous judicial appointments, the supreme court. US President Donald Trump. Harris's performance in the sole debate was not enough to overtake the spectacle of Trump's lies, distortions, and craziness. Photo:But much of the hand-wringing has been misleading. One of its themes is that the Democrats, controlled by the 'radical left', gave up on the economy and immigration by focusing on marginal cultural issues. The 'radical left' label is nonsense. For 50 years, Biden was an exemplar of centrist politics. Harris had tacked sharply away from the progressive image in her 2020 presidential run. Tim Walz, her vice presidential pick, was liked by progressives but is still a pragmatic centrist. The Democrat Party's most active campaigners on key economic issues, following the 2024 debacle, have been progressives such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (pictured), Bernie Sanders, and Gretchen Whitmer, along with centrists such as former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images The Democratic national committee was firmly in the grips of the centre, so much so that it was being criticised for being too cautious in its approach and messaging. In contrast, the most active campaigners on key economic issues, following the 2024 debacle, have been progressives such as Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, and Gretchen Whitmer, along with centrists such as former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel. The snipe at cultural issues is more of a call for Democrats to tone down and even set aside attention to rights. It rests on a caricature that activists are obsessed with pronouns and self-identification. In fact, at a time when the Trump administration is dismantling women's rights, rallying for those rights — including reproductive rights — is needed more than ever. As Trump and Co. try to erase transgender people, a pride in LGBT+ rights is not a black mark or a scarlet letter. When migrants and asylum seekers are being rounded up and disappeared in foreign prisons, discussions of race, ethnicity, and America are needed more than ever. The Democrats have talent across the political spectrum such as Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. Photo: Leah Farrell / © The hand-wringers have highlighted a poll with a 'favourable' rating of the Democrats of 28%, its lowest mark since 1992. But they haven't considered that the rating could be effect rather than cause, given the pervasive, misleading 'attack' narratives of Trumpists that are amplified by media. Nor have they noted that much of the disquiet around the Democrats is that they are 'weak' and 'ineffective' — in other words, not speaking out on issues include those concerning rights. Democrat advantage FAR from being down and out, Democrats have regained the advantage in party affiliation for the first time since 2022, with 46% of Americans identifying as Democrats or independent-leaning Democratic versus 43% who identify as Republican or Republican-leaning. Moreover, in surveys about the 2026 mid-term elections, the Democrats consistently hold an edge of around 3% over the GOP. That Democrat edge is likely to widen as the economic downturn, fed by tariff chaos and the Trump administration's 'chainsaw' to the US system, takes hold in the coming months. Beyond superficial commentary about 'left' and 'centre', the obvious and productive line is that this is not one way or the other: the Democratic Party, like any concerned activist, can seek a way forward on the economy, immigration, and rights. Jon Ossoff is another talent within the Democrats who can help the party. Photo: AP/Branden Camp They have talent across the political spectrum: governors such as Whitmer of Michigan, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Wes Moore of Maryland; senators such as Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Jon Ossoff of Georgia, and Bernie Sanders of Vermont; representatives including Ocasio-Cortez, Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico and Jamie Raskin of Maryland; and the ground troops at state and local level. Most importantly, they have a cause that needs to break through the doom-and-gloom, the Trumpian chaos, and the white noise across social media. The US system is at risk of not just being bent but broken by an administration seeking authoritarian power, from the disregard and abuse of law and the constitution to the falsification of reality and the never-ending assault on 'enemies'. Josh Shapiro and other Democrats have a cause that needs to break through the doom-and-gloom, the Trumpian chaos, and the white noise across social media. Photo: AP/Matt Rourke The late John Lewis, a civil rights icon who served 34 years in congress, famously said: 'We must be the change we wish to see in the world'. But he also cautioned that there would be those who would say the contest was lost. There would be those who would say, in the face of adversity, that it would be better to quiet down about rights and justice. His advice? 'Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.' Scott Lucas is professor of international politics at the Clinton Institute, University College Dublin; professor emeritus of international politics at the University of Birmingham; and editor-in-chief of EA WorldView.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Donald Trump confirms he will meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15th
US president Donald Trump is to meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin in the US state of Alaska next Friday, August 15th. The news follows Mr Putin's failure to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine by Friday's deadline, which had been set by the US . Prior to announcing next week's meeting, Mr Trump said an end to the Ukraine war would have to involve 'some swapping of territories'. He added that it would be to the 'betterment of both' countries. The US president confirmed the date and location of his meeting with Mr Putin in a post on his Truth Social, saying: 'The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska. Further details to follow. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield had expressed little hope for a diplomatic solution to the war as Mr Trump's deadline arrived for the Kremlin to make peace. Exasperated that Mr Putin did not heed his calls to stop bombing Ukrainian cities, Mr Trump almost two weeks ago moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia and introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil if the Kremlin did not move toward a settlement. More to follow. (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025
