The Republican-led House Oversight Committee slammed the Trump administration on Tuesday for botching the public release of millions of pages of records relating to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. In a report scrutinizing the government’s handling of criminal investigations of Epstein and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell, the committee faulted U.S. President Donald Trump and the Justice Department for reneging on a promise to open the files, which led Congress to pass a law forcing their release. After Congress stepped in, the administration missed disclosure deadlines and concealed names of alleged co-conspirators while failing to adequately protect victims, “including through deficient redactions that exposed their sensitive information,” the report said. The 137-page report, released by the GOP-controlled committee, comes nearly a year after Congress passed and Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires the Justice Department to publicly disclose records relating to the late sex offender, many of which were previously confidential. The report also comes on the heels of last week’s midterm elections, when Republicans suffered heavy House losses in failing to hold their majority after a campaign where the release of government records related to Epstein became a recurring campaign issue. “The Trump administration has repeatedly committed to releasing Epstein-related files,” the report said. “However, multiple shortcomings related to releasing documents and failures to adequately communicate about those releases plagued the DOJ’s efforts.” Political fallout from the Epstein files Democrats used the Trump administration’s handling of the files to accuse Republicans of protecting the wealthy and well-connected, suggesting Trump’s past relationship with Epstein exposed him to potential unethical activity. The report stated, “Trump’s lack of involvement is confirmed by numerous lines of testimony in interviews or depositions with various individuals.” The Justice Department released the bulk of the so-called Epstein files in December and January. In all, more than 3 million pages of documents were disclosed, along with more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files contributed to her firing in April. The records included documents concerning Epstein’s famous associates, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Britain’s Prince Andrew, and email correspondence between Epstein and Elon Musk and other prominent contacts from across the political spectrum. More than 350 different ads mentioning Epstein aired since Labor Day for Republican and Democratic candidates running in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. Ads from Democratic-aligned groups claimed Republican candidates voted against releasing the Epstein files, while candidates from both parties accused each other of taking donations from associates of the convicted sex offender. The report also examined how federal authorities investigated Epstein nearly two decades ago but failed to bring charges after multiple underage girls told police and the FBI that they had been paid to give Epstein sexualized massages. The U.S. attorney in Miami at the time, Alexander Acosta, signed off on a deal that let Epstein avoid federal prosecution. Epstein instead pleaded guilty to a state charge of soliciting prostitution from someone under age 18. He got an 18-month jail sentence, but was permitted to leave for up to 12 hours a day, six days a week on work release. Acosta was Trump’s first labor secretary in his first term. The report said a woman informed the committee last year that she was abused by Epstein while he was on work release. The report criticized the sheriff’s office in Palm Beach County, Florida, for granting Epstein such privileges, calling it an “abuse of its discretion” and “absurd leniency that enabled Epstein to commit further crimes.” Criticism of Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files Echoing the concerns from Epstein’s accusers, the report criticized the administration for failing to obscure the names and other personally identifying information of women sexually abused by Epstein. A lawyers for some victims said there were thousands of missing redactions, exposing the names of nearly 100 women. “The DOJ — presumably due to the speed with which files were being reviewed — failed to adequately redact names and personally identifiable information of numerous survivors,” the report said. Conversely, the report also detailed claims that some redactions were overinclusive and concealed the names of Epstein’s alleged co-conspirators and others in his orbit. For example, the report said, the Justice Department redacted the name of a recipient of an email from Epstein that referenced a “torture video.” According to members of Congress who reviewed unredacted versions of the document, the recipient was Emirati businessperson Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the report said. Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the committee’s chairman, concluded in a statement that the federal government had failed victims of Epstein, who died in prison in 2019, and Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on counts involving her role in helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls, including sex trafficking. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence at a minimum-security prison in Texas. “The federal government has failed the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s horrific crimes for decades,” Comer said. “Epstein operated with impunity, shielded and enabled by powerful connections and a justice system that repeatedly failed his victims.” Justice Department officials noted that the Epstein case is not closed and that there is no statute of limitations on human trafficking. “The department will continue following all additional investigative leads in matters relating to Jeffrey Epstein,” a department spokesperson said in a statement, encouraging victims to reach out to the FBI. Thomas Beaumont And Michael R. Sisak, The Associated Press
