WASHINGTON — The House Oversight Committee released thousands of pages of documents from the government's investigation of Jeffrey Epstein as the fight over the disgraced financier and sex offender's files reignited after lawmakers returned to Washington.

In its first tranche of documents, the committee said it released 33,295 pages of files that it received from the Department of Justice.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer issued a subpoena for the records related to Epstein from the Justice Department on Aug. 5 after a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the panel voted in favor of the measure in July.

Democrats on committee say most documents aren't new

The release of the initial batch of documents comes after President Donald Trump, once a close friend of Epstein, has faced several weeks of criticism over the Justice Department's refusal to release all Epstein documents.

USA TODAY was unable to immediately verify independently how many of the records were new and had not previously been made public.

Yet the documents are unlikely to satisfy Democrats and other Trump critics who have demanded the Department of Justice disclose all documents in its possession from the government’s Epstein investigation.

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-California, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said 97% of the records released in the first tranche had already been made public previously. He said most are the same records Attorney General Pam Bondi provided to right-wing influencers in February.

“Most of it’s already in the public record,” Garcia said. “What we need right now is full compliance with the subpoena. And the attorney general who once said all the (Epstein) files were on her desk should release all the files immediately.”

Democrat Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico, who sits on the committee, posted a screenshot of documents on X showing that some of the records received by the committee remain redacted.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, another Democrat on the committee, said the Justice Department released only 1% of all the government's Epstein files to the committee.

The controversy over the Epstein files has tested the Trump administration's relationship with the president's MAGA base and frustrated the former businessman, whose friendship with Epstein ended in the mid-2000s after Trump said the disgraced financier stole workers from him.

The White House has previously acknowledged Trump's name is mentioned in the files but denied any wrongdoing in connection to Epstein.

The Justice Department turned over the files to lawmakers on Aug. 22 in response to the committee's subpoena.

The same day, the DOJ released transcripts of interviews that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche conducted with Epstein's imprisoned former girlfriend and associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, in which she absolve Trump of any wrongdoing. Maxwell was later transferred from a prison in Florida to a lower-security facility in Texas.

Comer said in an Aug. 18 statement that DOJ would soon send over the first batch of documents. But he warned the release would be incomplete.

"There are many records in DOJ’s custody, and it will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted," he said at the time.

The committee also issued subpoenas for depositions former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former top federal law enforcement officials, including James Comey, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Robert Mueller, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales.

Legislation would make all the Epstein files public

Epstein died in a New York prison in August 2019. New York's chief medical examiner ruled Epstein died by suicide, a conclusion the FBI and Justice Department this year said it supports.

The release of Epstein documents comes amid a push led by lawmakers to mandate the release of all files related to the case.

Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, are leading an effort to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act which would compel the U.S. Attorney General to release in a searchable format all Department of Justice files related to Epstein.

Massie introduced the bill on July 15 and it was referred to the House Committee on Rules, according to Congress.gov, a website for tracking legislation before Congress.

With all 212 Democrats backing the effort, only six Republicans need to sign on, Khanna said on NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker."

Khanna is planning a news conference for September 3 where he said 10 Epstein victims will speak. The news conference, Khanna said, could be 'explosive' and compel additional lawmakers to sign on.

Epstein victims brief committee members

At an emotional meeting earlier in the day, some of the women who said they are Epstein victims briefed House Oversight Committee lawmakers on their experiences, some in advance of a scheduled Sept. 3 news conference.

At least one House member, Republican Nancy Mace of North Carolina, left early and in tears. As a recent victim of sexual assault, Mace said in an X post, “I had a very difficult time listening to their stories. Full blown panic attack. Sweating. Hyperventilating. Shaking. I can’t breathe.”

Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-New Mexico, said some of the women shared their stories publicly for the first time. “What they revealed is not only the trauma of hundreds (maybe thousands) of young women, but a cover-up of epic proportions involving the wealthy, the well-connected, and even our own government—all the way to the top,” Stansbury told reporters after the briefing. “Let me be clear: we will not stop. We will follow every thread, every document, and every bank record until there is justice.”

Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett, after leaving the briefing, urged lawmakers “to rethink the whole files thing.”

“Apparently there’s some files that they don’t want out,” Burchett said of the women accusers. “I think we’re going to get to the right spot where we can release everything that needs to be released.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: First bloc of Jeffrey Epstein documents released by House; Epstein victims due to testify

Reporting by Francesca Chambers, Joey Garrison, Michael Loria and Josh Meyer, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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