House Republicans issue subpoena for Jeffrey Epstein files
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Kentucky) formally issued the subpoena on Aug 5, 2025, nearly two weeks after one of the panel's subcommittees — with some GOP support — voted to compel the Justice Department to release the files. Under House rules, Comer was obligated to issue the subpoena and no full House vote was required. The subpoena requests delivery of documents related to Epstein on or before August 19.
Comer also subpoenaed several high-profile officials from Republican and Democratic administrations, though it's unclear what they might be able to contribute to the matter.
The chairman issued subpoenas for all communications about Epstein between then-President Joe Biden and his administration along with subpoenas to prominent politicos from past Republican and Democratic administrations including Bill and Hillary Clinton; former FBI director James B. Comey; former attorneys general Merrick Garland, William P. Barr, Jeff Sessions, Loretta E. Lynch, Eric Holder and Alberto Gonzales; as well as former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.
The Epstein investigation spanned two decades. In all, Comer issued 11 subpoenas.
It's unclear how the Justice Department plans to respond to the subpoena.
The subpoena from a GOP-led House underscores the pressure President Donald Trump and Republicans are under to release the files as the MAGA base continues to demand transparency. Trump and congressional Republicans have struggled to quash the furor over the Justice Department's decision not to release the files, after releasing a memo in early July confirming that Epstein killed himself and didn't have a 'client list' naming powerful people who may have abused underage girls.
On July 23, Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pennsylvania) brought a motion to subpoena the Justice Department to release the Epstein files during a House Oversight Federal Law Enforcement subcommittee hearing. The measure passed 8-2 with bipartisan support after Republican Reps. Brian Jack (R-Georgia), Nancy Mace (R- South Carolina) and Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania) joined Democrats to pass it. The measure included language that would protect the identities of the victims.
A separate Oversight subcommittee voted to subpoena Epstein's imprisoned associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Comer swiftly issued the subpoena for a deposition expected the week of Aug. 11 at a federal prison in Florida, where Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence. But the meeting is in limbo after Comer rejected a request from Maxwell's attorney for immunity in exchange for the deposition, along with other conditions.
House Republicans are in recess in August but took several actions before leaving that could put the Trump administration and GOP leadership in a bind over Epstein. Democrats have forced them into several uncomfortable votes on releasing the files, and more are likely.
One of them is a bipartisan maneuver spearheaded by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-California) and Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) that would force a vote on the House floor in September, when members return, to release the Epstein files. Nearly two dozen Republicans have signed onto the so-called discharge petition, according to a count Massie has been updating on social media. That's more than enough to force a floor vote if all Democrats sign onto the measure.
The tension was further exacerbated when Democrats on the House Rules Committee repeatedly forced Republicans to vote on Epstein-related amendments, resulting in Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) dismissing the House a day early.
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