Latest news with #HouseCommitteeonOversight
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Justice Department will meet with Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's imprisoned girlfriend
Advertisement A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Thursday. The person who confirmed the meeting insisted on anonymity to describe a closed-door encounter to The Associated Press. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up A lawyer for Maxwell confirmed on Tuesday there were discussions with the government and said Maxwell 'will always testify truthfully.' The House Committee on Oversight issued a subpoena on Wednesday for Maxwell to testify before committee officials in August. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence and is housed at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida. She was sentenced three years ago after being convicted of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. Officials have said Epstein killed himself in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell's links to famous people, including royals, presidents and billionaires. Advertisement Earlier this month, the Justice Department said it would not release more files related to the Epstein investigation, despite promises that claimed otherwise from Attorney General Pam Bondi. The department also said an Epstein client list does not exist. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Bondi told Trump in May that his name was among high-profile people mentioned in government files of Epstein, though the mention does not imply wrongdoing. Trump, a Republican, has said that he once thought Epstein was a 'terrific guy' but that they later had a falling out. A subcommittee on Wednesday also voted to subpoena the Justice Department for documents related to Epstein. And senators in both major political parties have expressed openness to holding hearings on the matter after Congress' August recess. Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, has introduced legislation with bipartisan support that would require the Justice Department to 'make publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials' related to Epstein and his associates. House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Republican majority leader, Representative Steve Scalise, both of Louisiana, have said they will address whatever outstanding Epstein-related issues are in Congress when they return from recess. Epstein, under a 2008 non-prosecution agreement, pleaded guilty in Florida to state charges of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. That allowed him to avert a possible life sentence, instead serving 13 months in a work release program. He was required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender. In 2019, Epstein was charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for nearly identical allegations. Advertisement ___ Williams reported from Detroit.
North Wales Chronicle
6 days ago
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
Congressional committee votes to issue subpoena for Jeffrey Epstein files
Three Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight voted with Democrats for the measure, sending it through on an 8-2 vote. Republican subcommittee chairman Clay Higgins said work to draft the subpoena was beginning. Earlier on Wednesday, a judge had rejected the Justice Department's request to unseal transcripts from grand jury investigations into Epstein years ago in Florida, saying the request did not meet any of the extraordinary exceptions under federal law that could make them public. A similar records request is still pending in New York. News reports on Wednesday said the department told Donald Trump in May that his name was among high-profile people mentioned in government files about Epstein, though the mention does not imply wrongdoing. Files already released by the government included a 2016 deposition in which an accuser recounted spending several hours with Epstein at Mr Trump's Atlantic City casino, but did not say if she met Mr Trump and did not accuse him of any wrongdoing. The president has also said he once thought Epstein was a 'terrific guy' but that they later had a falling out. White House spokesperson Steven Cheung on Wednesday said the reports were 'nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media'. The subcommittee vote came hours before the House was scheduled to end its July work session and leave Washington for a month-long break. House Speaker Mike Johnson has adjourned major business in the House ahead of Congress's August recess to avoid contentious votes on Epstein-related matters as Mr Trump's administration faces intense public pressure to release more information about the sexual predator.
Rhyl Journal
6 days ago
- Politics
- Rhyl Journal
Congressional committee votes to issue subpoena for Jeffrey Epstein files
Three Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight voted with Democrats for the measure, sending it through on an 8-2 vote. Republican subcommittee chairman Clay Higgins said work to draft the subpoena was beginning. Earlier on Wednesday, a judge had rejected the Justice Department's request to unseal transcripts from grand jury investigations into Epstein years ago in Florida, saying the request did not meet any of the extraordinary exceptions under federal law that could make them public. A similar records request is still pending in New York. News reports on Wednesday said the department told Donald Trump in May that his name was among high-profile people mentioned in government files about Epstein, though the mention does not imply wrongdoing. Files already released by the government included a 2016 deposition in which an accuser recounted spending several hours with Epstein at Mr Trump's Atlantic City casino, but did not say if she met Mr Trump and did not accuse him of any wrongdoing. The president has also said he once thought Epstein was a 'terrific guy' but that they later had a falling out. White House spokesperson Steven Cheung on Wednesday said the reports were 'nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media'. The subcommittee vote came hours before the House was scheduled to end its July work session and leave Washington for a month-long break. House Speaker Mike Johnson has adjourned major business in the House ahead of Congress's August recess to avoid contentious votes on Epstein-related matters as Mr Trump's administration faces intense public pressure to release more information about the sexual predator.
Leader Live
6 days ago
- Politics
- Leader Live
Congressional committee votes to issue subpoena for Jeffrey Epstein files
Three Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight voted with Democrats for the measure, sending it through on an 8-2 vote. Republican subcommittee chairman Clay Higgins said work to draft the subpoena was beginning. Earlier on Wednesday, a judge had rejected the Justice Department's request to unseal transcripts from grand jury investigations into Epstein years ago in Florida, saying the request did not meet any of the extraordinary exceptions under federal law that could make them public. A similar records request is still pending in New York. News reports on Wednesday said the department told Donald Trump in May that his name was among high-profile people mentioned in government files about Epstein, though the mention does not imply wrongdoing. Files already released by the government included a 2016 deposition in which an accuser recounted spending several hours with Epstein at Mr Trump's Atlantic City casino, but did not say if she met Mr Trump and did not accuse him of any wrongdoing. The president has also said he once thought Epstein was a 'terrific guy' but that they later had a falling out. White House spokesperson Steven Cheung on Wednesday said the reports were 'nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media'. The subcommittee vote came hours before the House was scheduled to end its July work session and leave Washington for a month-long break. House Speaker Mike Johnson has adjourned major business in the House ahead of Congress's August recess to avoid contentious votes on Epstein-related matters as Mr Trump's administration faces intense public pressure to release more information about the sexual predator.
South Wales Guardian
6 days ago
- Politics
- South Wales Guardian
Congressional committee votes to issue subpoena for Jeffrey Epstein files
Three Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight voted with Democrats for the measure, sending it through on an 8-2 vote. Republican subcommittee chairman Clay Higgins said work to draft the subpoena was beginning. Earlier on Wednesday, a judge had rejected the Justice Department's request to unseal transcripts from grand jury investigations into Epstein years ago in Florida, saying the request did not meet any of the extraordinary exceptions under federal law that could make them public. A similar records request is still pending in New York. News reports on Wednesday said the department told Donald Trump in May that his name was among high-profile people mentioned in government files about Epstein, though the mention does not imply wrongdoing. Files already released by the government included a 2016 deposition in which an accuser recounted spending several hours with Epstein at Mr Trump's Atlantic City casino, but did not say if she met Mr Trump and did not accuse him of any wrongdoing. The president has also said he once thought Epstein was a 'terrific guy' but that they later had a falling out. White House spokesperson Steven Cheung on Wednesday said the reports were 'nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media'. The subcommittee vote came hours before the House was scheduled to end its July work session and leave Washington for a month-long break. House Speaker Mike Johnson has adjourned major business in the House ahead of Congress's August recess to avoid contentious votes on Epstein-related matters as Mr Trump's administration faces intense public pressure to release more information about the sexual predator.
